Shadowfire
by nas-iiN
Summary: Sequel to Fauna's Fate you have to read that first . The Weasley's world is rocked prompting Adam to take decisive action. Everyone struggles to come to terms with the Shadowfire prophecy.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: In which the New Year starts badly**

January 1st, 1996, began with a bright but cold morning. The excitement of Christmas had passed and the quiet, rural area around Ottery St. Mary and Ottery St. Catchpole had sleepily ushered in the New Year. In the peculiar house known as The Burrow, all the inhabitants except one were asleep. Molly Weasley, as usual, had woken up early so she could feed the chickens and begin preparing for the coming day – cooking and cleaning for the Weasleys took a lot of organising and an early start was vital. All of her sons had been staying at the Burrow since before Christmas, much to the matriarch's delight, but this also meant nine people to make breakfast for, including herself. It was approximately half past six on New Year's Day when the lives of the Weasley family changed forever.

Molly quietly whistled a Celestina Warbeck tune as she headed out of the kitchen, a bucket of chicken feed swinging from one hand. Her breath hung on the crisp morning air as she walked around the house to the coup that was behind the shed. The remaining inhabitants of the quirky wooden house snored and slumbered on, completely oblivious as thirteen masked and robed Death Eaters activated a Portkey and landed in the Burrow's garden. They were totally unaware of one of the intruders whispering the fatal words of the _Avada Kedavra_ curse, and they were unknowing as their wife and mother fell to the ground, never to breathe again.

"You! Keep the Portkey safe," ordered one Death Eater to another in a menacing whisper. "And, you, get the anti-Apparition ward up." A few minutes later, the Death Eater in charge, spoke again. "Right, spread out, and follow my lead."

The thirteen cloaked invaders stretched out around one side of the wooden house, although one of the group, unseen by the others, hung back towards the trees of the orchard. When all were in position, the leader cast the first spell, with a malicious shout.

"_REDUCTO!_"

The destructive spell hammered into the side of the building, making an almighty boom as it smacked against the magically protected outer walls. Moments later, the yells of many other spells rang out, each pounding against the walls of the Burrow, progressively weakening the protection.

As soon as the first spell struck the house, the eight remaining Weasleys were awoken with a start. Arthur Weasley's voice rang out throughout the house, rousing his children from their beds.

"WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! GET YOUR WANDS AND GET TO THE KITCHEN NOW! "

Although Ron was the last to arrive, it still took less than a minute for eight red-haired Weasleys, in some state of dress, to be gathered in kitchen of the Burrow, with expressions ranging from grim determination to confusion and fear.

"Now, kids," Arthur spoke loudly above the din caused by spells crashing against the house. "The spells protecting the walls will only hold for a few minutes, under this barrage. We must engage them, draw their fire away from the house, otherwise the whole thing could come down. Ginny, try Flooing for help. I can sense that there are wards preventing Apparition. I figure our best bet is to rush out of the door, and try and surprise them. Keep an eye out for your mother, she could be outside somewhere and need help. Ron, stay with Ginny – look after each other."

The Weasley children looked grave, the twins more serious than anyone had ever seen them before. They had never seen their father take such a commanding air before, but then, he had lived through one war already, and knew what he was doing.

"The Floo is blocked, Dad," Ginny called, as she returned to the group.

"Then we're on our own. We fight for our lives, our future, our Weasley pride. Fight with fire, with passion. We will not be terrorised in our home." Arthur paused to look at each of his children in turn. "I love you all," he said fiercely. "Now, let's do this."

Starting with Arthur, then the others following in age order, the Weasleys burst out through the back door of the Burrow and into the garden, and did indeed catch the Death Eaters by surprise, as many of them were aiming spells at other parts of the house. After only a few minutes, however, they were all penned back against the wall of the house, barricaded to some extent behind some conjured tables. Those few Death Eaters that they had managed to Stun in their opening salvo had been revived, and it was eight defenders fighting for their lives against twelve maniacal aggressors.

Suddenly, Ginny made a dart through the door back into the kitchen, and Ron, on his father's instructions, followed.

"Ginny! What are you doing?"

"Getting help."

"But how? The Floo is blocked."

"I have a way." Before her brother could speak again, Ginny's Phoenix flashed into existence.

"Whoa! How do you...is that a Phoenix?!"

"Yeah. I'll be back in a minute."

"Where are you going?"

"To get Adam." In a blaze of flame, the girl and the bird were gone.

In contrast to Sirius, both Harry and Remus were early risers, and were enjoying their first cup of coffee of the New Year whilst chatting at their kitchen table in the privacy of their cottage in the middle of the 'haunted Devon forest.

"Have you been able to find out anything else about this Shadowfire thing, Moony?"

"I'm sorry, Adam. The Hogwarts library seems to have nothing on it apart from what Hermione found. And Dumbledore only knew about it because he'd read that same book. I don't know if there's anywhere else to look." After the excitement of the Yule Ball, barely a week before, Hermione had shown Harry and Ginny the ancient book, and they had read with accepting horror about the prophecy that seemed to perfectly describe the young couple.

"I guess I'll just have to go and talk to the Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest."

"You can't just wander around the Forest looking for..."

"I won't have to. They'll come to me."

"What?"

"I noticed part way through the term. Whenever Ginny and I went to the clearing, one or two Centaurs would watch us. I'll just have to wait until they turn up and then call them out."

"But what if they…?" Remus sentence was interrupted by the dramatic blazing entrance of Ginny and her Phoenix.

"Ginny? What are you…?" Harry began saying but Ginny cut him off.

"Death Eaters are attacking the Burrow. We need help. The Floo's been blocked and Dad said there are anti-Apparition wards up."

"I'll get Sirius and alert Dumbledore," Remus said at once.

"Ginny, take us back there," Harry commanded, as he took a firm hold of his girlfriend's hand. Without a moment's hesitation, the young couple and the bird disappeared in a flash of black-tinged flame.

"Be safe," whispered Remus to the spot his ward had just disappeared from. After a second's pause, the werewolf yelled in the direction of the bedrooms. "PADFOOT! GET UP NOW!"

The Phoenix brought Harry and Ginny to one end of the Burrow's garden – where the ramshackle gate led to the driveway and the village beyond. The twelve attacking Death Eaters were all still sending wave after wave of curses at the small group that huddled valiantly behind makeshift and conjured defences, close to the Burrow's kitchen door.

Even from this distance, Harry could see that seven Weasleys were fighting from behind the tiny barricade, although each of them seemed to be hurt to some degree. Arthur had blood covering most of his face, and Charlie had one arm out of commission.

Remembering the anger that he had felt less than two weeks before, when Voldemort appeared in Diagon Alley, throwing the name "Harry Potter" around, Harry snapped into action and began striding purposefully towards the nearest Death Eater. Ginny matched his stride, fuelled by the love for her family and fury that these sycophants dared to attack her home. As they closed on the cloaked and masked wizard, each knew what they had to do. After weeks of practice in the Room of Requirements, Harry and Ginny could combine their instinctive magic with ease. When their first target finally noticed the two hunters approaching him, it was already too late. A huge jet of black-tinged fire was screaming towards him. In under a second, the hapless victim was a charred mess on the ground.

The dead Death Eater's brief scream of horror alerted his comrades to the presence of Harry and Ginny, and several of them turned their attentions away from the house and onto the approaching teens. Harry's shadow shielded the young pair from the Death Eaters' spells until they were close enough to attack again.

In barely a few minutes, Harry and Ginny had worked their way down the entire line of Death Eaters, leaving twelve charred and smoking bodies scarring the ground. When it had become clear that they faced a formidable pair of opponents, the last few of Voldemort's soldiers tried to escape, but were caught out by their own anti-Apparition ward and the fact that the one of them holding the Portkey was hiding in the trees of the orchard which left them trapped within the range of the pair's lethal fire, and soon met their demise. The disgusting stench of burning flesh filled the air, and Ginny Weasley's delicate constitution couldn't cope, causing her to turn away and retch. She wasn't the only one – after staggering back through the trees, the thirteenth Death Eater was also paling at the gruesome sight and smell of his roasted comrades. The man's stomach heaved, and he couldn't help the cough that escaped his lips.

"Get back to the house," commanded Harry, as he hauled Ginny to her feet. "Help your family. I'll search the trees."

"But what if…?" Ginny's question was cut off by a heart-rending, agonised scream. Not a scream of pain, but one of anguish, of the utmost despair.

"Go! Go to your family. GO!"

Ginny set off at a run towards the source of the chilling cry. Harry stalked like the hunter he was into the shadows of the apple trees, where he all but disappeared from sight.

Ron stood for a moment staring in confusion at the space from where his sister had just disappeared in a flash of fire. _A Phoenix? Dumbledore supposedly had a Phoenix but how could she have…?_ His thoughts were cut short by the crashing sound of a _Reducto_ thudding into the upper floors of the house, reminding him of the situation outside. Quickly, the youngest Weasley male darted back out of the kitchen door and ducked behind the hastily conjured, but rapidly dwindling, barricade and dropped down next to his father.

"Where's Ginny? I told you to…"

"She's gone for help," Ron shouted back, above the din of the battle.

"How?"

"She called a Phoenix."

"What?" called Bill, who had heard his brother's answer. His distraction was short lived as a jet of purple light missed his left ear by centimetres and hurtled into the wooden wall behind them.

Arthur, who was also surprised by his youngest son's reply, saw his eldest nearly take the fatal curse in the face, and began to admonish Ron.

"This is no time for…"

"Look!" Ron cried, ignoring his father and pointing across the yard to the end of the gated driveway.

Across the garden stood Ginny, and looking towards them was an exceedingly grim-faced Adam Black. The Weasley males could only stare with mingled shock, relief and horror as the duo systematically incinerated the twelve cloaked and masked intruders who were attacking their home. As the reality struck, and Arthur saw his daughter double over to be sick, his composure returned enough to give a command to his sons.

"Go and find your mother."

As the middle-aged man wiped at his bloodied face, the six young men – even Charlie whose arm was hanging limply by his side – scurried off around the Burrow. Barely a few seconds later he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. It was the sound of a heart-rending, agonised scream. Not the scream of pain, but one of anguish, of the utmost despair.

Percy Weasley had fought as hard and as valiantly as any of his brothers. He may have been a bookworm, a stickler for the rules, a perfect Prefect and big-Head Boy, but Percy Weasley was also a very, very talented wizard. His O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. scores were among the highest ever recorded at Hogwarts, and it must be remembered that half of the grade in most subjects came from practical application. Percy Weasley was not a Gryffindor by mistake, he was no coward. For all his haughtiness and pompous ways, this young man valued his family highly, and would protect it with everything he had. Maybe it was hidden away behind his fastidious nature, but the third Weasley sibling was undoubtedly the most passionate, the most emotional. Maybe it was coincidence, or maybe a cruel twist of fate, but it was Percy Weasley who found the cold, lifeless body of his mother, lying motionless on the cold earth, the basket of grain still clutched in between her fingers.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Percy's cry rang out through the cold winter's morning when he saw her. The distraught man collapsed by the side of his fallen mother, and clutched her body to him. He threw back his head and moaned into the air, willing for it not to be true. One by one, his brothers came upon the scene, and each fell to their knees beside the body of their mother. Ron was disbelieving, and kept whispering and muttering to himself. The twins clung to each other, silent tears pouring down their identical faces. Percy had begun rocking, still clinging to Molly, although his head was now bent and his face was buried in her greying red hair. Charlie was stoic, his face impassive, but beneath the mask he seethed inside, angry at the Death Eaters, at Voldemort, but most of all at fate for robbing them of the family's very core. The eldest son, Bill, looked from brother to brother, before staring into the sky and bellowing his emotions to the heavens in a heartfelt roar. This second harrowing cry tore through the countryside surrounding the ramshackle old wooden house.

Ginny and Arthur both ran towards the source of the first cry, happening on the scene at virtually the same moment. As they saw the huddle, both froze in their tracks for a second. It was Arthur who recovered first, dropping down beside Percy and trying to take his wife out of his son's grasp.

"No, dear God, no," sobbed the man. "Not Molly. Not my sweet Molly."

Ginny stood and watched, paralysed with shock. It was as if the beating heart of the Weasley family had been ripped away, and the rest had simply ceased to function. Each of the surviving eight Weasleys was lost in their own minds. Nothing could have prepared them for this.

Harry's keen, hawk-like eyes quickly scanned through the trees in the orchard, searching for whoever had made the sound. After a few seconds, he saw it; a cloaked figure, squatting at the base of an old apple tree, the sides of its body wider than the gnarled and knotted trunk.

Harry began to approach the figure, stalking his way silently through the long wet grass. Out to each side of him, Harry sent the panther and the wolf, and they flanked around the intruder, so they could come at him from the front.

When Harry reached his desired position, about five yards behind the tree against which the thirteenth Death Eater remained, he commanded the animals to leap out at the person. As he had planned, the man jumped up in surprise and scampered around the tree, only to find him self staring into the steely green eyes of Adam Black.

"I found this, a little way back," said Harry quietly, but with a venomous tone in his voice. "I assume it's yours." The black haired wizard threw a white mask to the ground at Malfoy's feet. The blonde boy momentarily paused for a moment, as if debating whether to pick it up or not, but he didn't want to expose his vulnerable back to his school rival".

"So, Malfoy. Are you going to run, and take your chances against my wolf and panther, or are you going to fight me for your freedom?"

Draco slowly pulled one hand out of his robes; it was holding a length of gold chain. "Or I could use this Portkey." He held the chain in his open palm, unable to stop him self from flaunting it. With a lightening-fast wave of his hand, Harry sent the chain careening off into the trees, where it was picked up by the black falcon.

"You were saying?"

"I guess it's a fight for my freedom then, Black," hissed Malfoy, who quickly snapped up his wand to fire the first curse, which Harry dodged nimbly. In return, Harry sent a small, black ball of swirling magical energy at his opponent, which took the blonde by surprise and smashed into his shoulder, dislocating it and knocking him down.

Harry strode to where Draco Malfoy lay on the wet grass, gasping in pain. Without hesitation, He brought his right foot down onto the other boy's wound, causing him to cry out in agony. As the cry subsided to a whimper, Harry crouched beside his foe.

"Tell me about Voldemort. What are his plans?"

"I…don't…know…" gasped Malfoy.

"You lie!" hissed Harry, and he struck the other boy on the shoulder again. "Tell me what you know!"

The pain was too much for Draco, and he could no longer make his speech intelligible. Harry tried a new tack.

"Look at me!" Harry commanded, but Draco turned his head away, his eyes closed. "Look at me!" he ordered again, but this time as Draco stubbornly refused to obey, Harry's strong hands held his face and pried his eyelids open. The bright green eyes looked deep into the cold grey and Harry was immensely surprised by what he saw in their depths.

"You were forced to take the Mark…you were hiding in the trees…never wanted to be a part of this…"

Malfoy wrenched his head from Harry's vice-like grip. "Get the hell off me, Black."

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?"

"Pureblood superiority – _that_ I agree with. Kissing the robes of a psycho and being tortured for breathing out of turn I do not. My father had other ideas and forced me into the Dark Lord's service. What could I do when I was picked for this mission? Tell him, "Thanks, but no thanks"? I had no choice. That's why I hid in the trees instead of fighting. I don't know if any of the others noticed…"

"Makes no difference. They're all dead."

"And I'm a dead man walking. If I go back to him alive, he'll kill me anyway."

"Dumbledore will help you."

"That old fool?"

"He's on his way. At least let him take you back to Hogwarts to get that shoulder fixed. He'll protect you; in fact, he probably won't be able to help himself."

"Sure. Whatever."

"Get up! They're here." Harry moved away from Draco, who was still lying on the grass where he fell. The panther and wolf padded silently up to their master, and fell into line beside him.

"They're yours?" asked Draco, as he struggled agonisingly to his feet.

"I'm full of surprises. Now do you see why I kept telling you to keep out of my way?", asked Harry, to which the bonde merely nodded.

The unlikely pair made their way out of the orchard and back towards the old wooden house, although instead of approaching the Weasleys' home, Harry led Draco around the edge of the tree-line towards the gate. Remus, Sirius and Dumbledore were walking hurriedly down the drive.

"How did you know…?" began Draco, but Harry cut him off.

"I have eyes and ears everywhere, Malfoy. Never forget that."

Harry and Draco met the astonished looking group at the Burrow's gate. The three adults were staring with unmasked shock at the garden, which was littered with the Death Eaters' blackened corpses. It was Dumbledore who finally recovered enough to speak.

"What happened here, Mr. Black?"

"Thirteen Death Eaters attacked the Burrow and Ginny came asking us for help. When we got back here, the Death Eaters were bombarding the house, which the other Weasleys were trying to defend. Ginny and I roasted the bastards."

"And Mr. Malfoy?" he asked, noticing the blonde for the first time.

"He's one of the dead Death Eaters, Headmaster. He can explain it to you back at Hogwarts."

"Was anyone hurt in the attack?" Remus asked anxiously.

"I think someone is dead. I don't know who, though," Harry replied solemnly.

"It's the mother," Draco spoke up, his voice a little louder than a whisper.

"Molly?" said Dumbledore, more to himself than anyone else.

"One of those tossers…" Draco jerked the thumb of his left hand over his shoulder towards the twelve blackened corpses. "…fired the Killing Curse at her back."

"Oh my God," cried out Sirius, before he took off towards the house.

Draco stared after his retreating back. "Who was that?" he asked Harry.

"That is Sirius Black, your mother's cousin."

"I thought he was…" Draco trailed off when he saw the look on Harry's face. Whatever he was about to say, Harry guessed it would be a load of nonsense. Surprisingly, Draco understood the meaning of Harry's glare perfectly.

"Remus," said Dumbledore suddenly, breaking out of the reverie he seemed to have been lost in. "Kingsley and Tonks are on their way. Tell them what has happened here. I need to speak with the Minister. This idiocy has to stop. Whatever wards they put up that prevented us Apparating in have fallen. I'll speak with you all later."

The Headmaster was about to turn on his heel and Apparate away when Harry's voice stopped him.

"No!"

"What is it, Adam?" Remus asked.

"Mr. Black?"

"Leave the Minister. Take Malfoy back to Hogwarts and get him to the hospital. He needs protection and you're the only person who can provide him with it."

"But the Minister must be told…"

"He'll be told," said Harry, interrupting the older man. "But right now it's time for action, not politicking. Malfoy's one of these thirteen dead bodies; your task is to make sure no-one suspects otherwise."

"Are you telling me what to do, Mr. Black?"

"Damn right I am, old man," replied Harry, his animalistic temper beginning to surface. "You know about Shadowfire. Are you on my side or in my way?"

Dumbledore looked at the defiant teenager for a second before reaching down to pick up a stick from the ground. A few muttered words and the stick glowed blue; it wouldn't do to side-along Apparate someone with an injured arm. The Headmaster turned to the blonde by his Harry's side. "Come with me, Mr. Smith. Let's get that injured arm sorted out."

With a brief nod at Harry, Dumbledore and Draco Malfoy both touched the stick and disappeared. Without a moment's hesitation, Harry left Remus by the gate and sprinted off towards the Burrow, as quickly as his heightened physical abilities would allow him. Under Sirius' guidance, it appeared that the remaining members of the Weasley family had managed to take Mrs. Weasley's lifeless body inside the house, where she had been laid to rest on her bed. When Harry entered the kitchen through the back door, Mr. Weasley was upstairs with his wife. Sirius was desperately trying to light up the stove so he could boil some water to make tea, while Bill was doing a poor job of comforting a distraught Percy. Charlie and Ron were seated next to each other at the old wooden table that took up most of the room. Mrs. Weasley's old wireless was crackling away in the background; the Wizarding Wireless Network reporter babbling about the Minister and Diagon Alley. Usually, Molly Weasley switched the old radio on before going out to feed the chickens. None of her children had had the heart to turn it off, as if it would be tantamount to switching off their mother's life force.

As Harry's eyes scanned the scene for his beloved Ginny, he found her in a three way hug with the twins, who were as quiet as Harry had ever seen them. Sensing Harry at the door, Ginny broke away from her brothers and moved to speak with him. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy from crying, and tears stained her cheeks. Her bottom lip was trembling, and her voice broke as she spoke.

"Mum's dead."

"I know. I'm so sorry."

"I don't know what to do."

"Just let me hold you for now."

"Thank you, Harry."

In the coming hours, Sirius stood guard at the back door, preventing entry to anyone who wanted to come and speak with the Weasleys in their darkest hour. Remus explained to the Aurors that came the little he knew. By eleven o'clock, the only remaining people on the Burrow's grounds were Remus, Tonks, Moody and Shacklebolt. The bodies of the Death Eaters had been piled into a conjured crate, ready for transportation.

Finally, after several hours spent in silent vigil, Arthur Weasley descended the creaky wooden stairs and entered the once beating heart of the Weasleys' ancient home. A heart once so full of warmth and happiness, that was now cold and solemn. The patriarch embraced each of his children in turn, in order of youngest to oldest, before sitting down at the head of the table. All eyes turn expectantly to look at the man, whose usually jovial face was grave, and red from crying.

_"…Wizards and witches of Great Britain, I, Cornelius Fudge, am speaking to you on the first day of __the__ New Year. A year that I believe shall be full of hope, success and peace for __the __Wizarding World. Thanks to the sterling work of the Ministry of Magic, Death Eater activity is at an all time low, a feat for which I claim full credit, thanks to my…"_

Percy Weasley's voice cut through the room, sounding harsher and more ragged than it had ever done.

"Will some one turn that idiot off?"

"I'll get it, Percy," said Sirius, who had quietly remained alongside Harry, near the back door.

"NO!" called Harry suddenly.

"What is it?" Ginny asked.

Harry took a deep breath, before releasing it slowly. "I'm going to have a word with the Minister."

"What are you on about, Adam?" piped up Ron. "You can't just walk up to the Minister of Magic."

Harry paused before he spoke again, looking at each of the Weasleys in turn. "Mr. Weasley, Ron, all of you. I am not really who I say I am. My name is not Adam Black. I apologise for deceiving you all. Please, just keep listening. It is time the world heard the truth for a change." Harry headed out of the door, gesturing for Ginny to follow him.

"I need to use the Phoenix, Gin. It is time for me to reveal myself to the world, and I mean to do it in style."

"Of course, Harry. What should I do?"

"Look after your family. Talk to them – you have the voice of a Phoenix, don't forget. Sing if you have to, but make sure they listen to what I have to say."

"I will." Ginny closed her eyes as Harry wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. There was a flash as the beautiful bird appeared beside them. "I've told her to heed your commands."

"Thank you, my love. I'll be back shortly."

As Harry and the bird vanished in a burst of flame, Ginny went back inside the kitchen, and immediately the chatter of her brothers and father ceased and they regarded her with bated breath.

"What's going on, Ginny?" her father asked. "Do you know who he really is?"

"Yes, I do."

"Sirius?"

"Yes, Arthur. He is my Godson, after all."

"Just listen to the wireless, please, Dad. Listen to what Harry says."

"Harry?" gasped seven voices in unison.

"_...reporting for the Wizarding Wireless Network. Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge has been speaking for about fifteen minutes now, and shows no signs of letting up. His message is clear, however, amidst all the words. Thanks to the Ministry of Magic, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is being kept at bay, his Death Eaters are being apprehended and our safety is assured. After his short break, the Minister appears to be about to continue his speech…_

…_wait! Something's happening. There's just been a big flash of fire up by the podium, causing the Minister to duck for cover. It looks like a young man has appeared, standing on a large box. There's something on his shoulder. It looks like…oh my…is that?…Yes, yes it's a Phoenix…"_

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded a flustered Cornelius Fudge, as he scrambled back to his feet. Harry, who was still standing on top of the large crate, turned to face the Minister, who was pompously stood centre-stage on the temporary platform that had been erected in Diagon Alley for his speech to the masses.

"Stand aside, Fudge," commanded Harry authoritatively, completely ignoring the wands that were pointing at him by Fudge's assignment of Aurors that stood behind him.

"Now wait just a minute, young man…"

"I SAID STAND ASIDE!" Harry roared, surprising many with his tone and shocking the Minister so much he took a step back. Harry leapt lightly from the crate on to the podium, shoving Fudge to one side and taking his place in front of an ostentatious looking lectern.

"Just who do you think you are…?"

Harry cut Fudge off again, and began addressing the assembled crowd of journalists, shopkeepers and general populace, who had gathered to listen to Fudge's annual speech. "Fellow citizens of Wizarding Britain, despite all the nonsense that you have heard spew out of this idiot's mouth…"

"AURORS! DO SOMETHING!" cried Fudge.

Harry turned to face the platoon of uniformed Aurors that were gathering behind him. "Would you attack an unarmed school boy? Surely the presence of this amazing phoenix demonstrates that I mean no harm. I wish only to speak here today." The looks on the faces of the Aurors showed their uncertainty. Harry saw this and turned back to face the crowd, praying that none of them would dare attack an unarmed boy from behind.

"As I was saying, despite the Minister's claims, a few hours ago, thirteen Death Eaters attacked the Burrow, the ancient family home of Ministry official Arthur Weasley…"

A small gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd.

"…It is with deepest regret that I must inform you that Molly Weasley, Arthur's wife and mother to seven children, was murdered in cold blood by the intruders."

Harry paused as the crowd reacted angrily to the news.

"Where were your Aurors then, Minister? Where were your Aurors as one of our societies' oldest families fought for their lives against a pack of rabid dogs? Were they here, in Diagon Alley, setting up this annual session of self-congratulation and smugness that no-one except you believes in? Well, Minister Fudge, you may be happy to bury your head in the sand and pretend Voldemort's hiding away with his tail between his legs, but I'm not. I will not allow these vile, cruel, evil people to attack innocent people, people who are my friends, people whom I love."

Harry hesitated as he fought to regain control of the anger that was welling up inside him as he spoke. His cool Slytherin demeanour regained charge over the impetuous Gryffindor after a few deep breaths.

"I have brought you a gift, Cornelius Fudge; it is still the season of goodwill, is it not? In this crate I have brought the deceased Death Eaters who had attacked the Burrow."

Harry waved his hand at the box, too caught up in the moment to think about taking out his wand and pretending to use it. The ropes around the crate loosened themselves and fell away and then the lid vanished, and the sides fell outwards, leaving the entire assembly free to see the thirteen – one body was transfigured from a log – burnt-to-a-crisp Death Eaters. As one, the crowd gasped in shock. The Minister turned green and promptly vomited off the side of the platform. Even some of the Aurors were having a difficult time looking at the blackened mess that was twelve dead sickos and a transfigured log.

"That is the final straw, young man," screamed Fudge, as he composed himself. "I demand to know who you are."

"Who am I, Cornelius Fudge?" Harry asked rhetorically, whilst staring angrily at the Minister. "You want to know who I am, Lord Voldemort?" he cried up to the sky. "I am the person who's going to send back each and every one of your Death Eaters in a box. I'm the one who's going to hunt them all down. You want to know who I am? I'M HARRY GODDAMN POTTER!!"

Harry fell silent. He looked at the crowd, who were staring at him with a mixture of fear, shock and jubilation that their saviour had returned. Harry turned to Fudge to see the podgy man reeling with astonishment. Harry turned full circle to see the Aurors, all of whom were staring at him, equally stunned.

Harry turned back to the crowd, who apparently were waiting for him to speak again. So he did.

"Rumours of my death were vastly exaggerated. See you around." In a flash of orange flame, boy and Phoenix disappeared from Diagon Alley.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: In which the Weasleys say goodbye

**A/N **This chapter, and each that follow are dedicated to someone whom I love with all my heart. She knows who she is. I would have given up writing if it wasn't for her, but the memory of her keeps me inspired.

**Chapter 2: In which the Weasleys say goodbye**

_"...incredible scenes here in Diagon Alley. A young man, claiming to be Boy-Who-Lived, has just delivered a box of what appears to be charred human remains to the feet of Cornelius Fudge. Having claimed that Death Eaters had earlier attacked the home of Ministry worker Arthur Weasley, killing his wife and mother of seven, Molly Weasley, the teenager faced down Fudge's assembled Aurors, before disappearing as swiftly as he came, in a flash of flame._

_Considering the Phoenix that was perched on his shoulder, it is hard to believe that this boy is evil, as Minister Fudge has since claimed. In an attempt to restore order, Fudge tried to continue his New Year's speech, but was quickly drowned out by the assembled crowd, chanting for their re-discovered hero, Harry Potter, who, on today's appearance, most certainly is not dead, despite reports several years ago to the contrary…"_

Back at the Burrow, seven red-headed men listened with astonishment to the words of the reporter, each listening fervently to every word being said about their daughter and sister's enigmatic boyfriend.

"I think that reporter needs to take a breath before he passes out!" said a voice suddenly in the back-doorway.

All heads bar one turned to see the owner of the voice. The other person had felt her Phoenix returning, and was across the kitchen in a flash to engulf the new arrival in a trademark Weasley hug.

It was several minutes later that the eight remaining Weasleys and one newly revealed Harry Potter settled in the lounge of The Burrow. Sirius and Remus remained outside the house, along with a couple of Order of the Phoenix members, where they continued to maintain privacy for the shell-shocked family.

Harry stood by the fireplace, ready to tell his story to the family. Arthur sat in his favourite armchair, which, like the house was old and worn, but sturdy and solidly built despite all appearances. Ron and the twins were crammed on to the small sofa that was opposite the fireplace, while Percy had fetched a kitchen chair that he had placed between his father and the sofa. Charlie and Bill stood behind the rest of their brothers, and Ginny sat on the floor near to Harry. Not only was this bound to be a fascinating tale, but it served as the perfect distraction from the family's grief.

"As you probably know, Dumbledore sent me to live with my mother's sister and her family. On my fifth birthday, I woke up to find a number of tattoos on my arms and body…"

Arthur's eyes widened in surprise as Harry said this, as he suddenly remembered that Ginny's tattoos had appeared on her fifth birthday as well. None of the boys knew about the fox and phoenix images on Ginny's chest and arm. Ginny saw her father's reaction, and moved her finger to her lips as he looked at her, quelling his instinct to interrupt Harry's speech.

"…Well, my relatives were not very tolerant of me, or magic, and so my Uncle dumped me at an orphanage in London, which is where, incidentally, I met Grace. It was also here I discovered several things; that I was a wizard, that I am a Parselmouth, and what these tattoos do."

"Do?" asked Percy. "What do you mean, what the tattoos do?"

Harry pushed up his right sleeve, revealing the image of a black snake coiling around his wrist.

"Cool!" whispered the twins and Ron simultaneously, much to the chagrin of their next eldest brother.

Barely a moment later, a living, hissing snake was uncoiling itself from the Boy-Who-Lived's arm, flicking its tongue around the room, tasting the smells of the unfamiliar place.

"Understand now, Percy?" Harry asked, slightly mockingly, as he glanced round at seven stunned faces.

After a few seconds, Arthur spoke quietly. "You mean…?" he asked, looking at Ginny.

"Yes, Dad."

"What is it? Dad?" enquired.

It was the youngest Weasley who replied. "Just like Harry, I woke up on my fifth birthday with tattoos…"

"WHAT?"

"Where?"

"What are they?"

"How many?"

"BOYS!" shouted Arthur, trying to quieten his sons who were firing questions at their sister. "Let Ginny explain."

"I have two," Ginny continued. "A fox, here." She pointed to her chest. "And a phoenix, on my left arm."

Harry and Ginny talked to the rest of the Weasley clan long into the afternoon, explaining how Harry had found her in the woods and healed her ankle, before they met up again at Hogwarts and began practicing together, and how Harry had taught Ginny how to control her phoenix and fox, and how to perform magic silently and without a wand, and how they could combine their natural magic into this amazingly powerfully black fire.

Harry apologised to them all for his deception, explaining passionately how he felt as if Harry Potter had truly died, thanks to Dumbledore's ill-advised decision to place him with the Dursleys.

They discussed the Shadowfire prophecy, what it could mean and what the pair would do. It seemed they were destined to vanquish the world of evil, but despite being mature and intelligent, they were still only mid-teens. Harry and Ginny showed the family each of their animals, and how they could control them. Ron was less than happy to have Harry's spider in the same room, but he managed to keep his discomfort to a slight shake and a sweaty brow.

"Adam…Harry…sorry," began Ron.

"It's OK, Ron."

"You realise Hermione's going to be…"

Ron's question was interrupted by Sirius, as the ex-convict appeared in the doorway leading to the kitchen. "Sorry to interrupt, guys, but the evening edition of the Prophet came. I thought you might want to have a look." He handed the paper to Arthur, before returning out through the kitchen.

_BOY WHO LIVED – LIVES by Rita Skeeter_

_Incredible scenes graced Diagon Alley earlier today, as Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived appeared in the centre of Minister Fudge's annual pontification. Arriving spectacularly in a flash of phoenix fire, young Harry shouted at the hapless Minister and faced off against a contingent of Aurors._

_The mysterious Potter boy, had been believed to have died several years ago, but clearly those unsubstantiated rumours were false. The boy is alive, powerful and charismatic, skilfully preaching to the assembled onlookers about how he would not permit He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's followers to attack those people he cared for._

_And who are these people, you may ask? Well, it appears that Harry Potter has taken the famously light-sided Weasley family under his protection, largely due to an alleged romance between Potter and the young Weasley girl. The Boy-Who-Lived proceeded to deliver a crate of what he claimed where the bodies of thirteen Death Eaters who had attacked the Weasley home in the early ours of this morning, killing Molly Weasley (nee Prewett)._

_Proclaiming his identity to all, specifically You-Know-Who, Harry Potter ended his short but memorable speech with the words "I am the person who's going to send back each and every one of your Death Eaters in a box. I'm the one who's going to hunt them all down." _

_Nothing has been heard of Harry Potter since the night he stopped You-Know-Who, back in 1981. It seems, however, that Mr. Potter has fooled us all, hiding in plain sight. Cho Chang, Ravenclaw Prefect at Hogwarts told me that Potter has been attending classes since September, joining the Slytherin fifth year contingent under the name of Adam Black. Miss Chang also confirmed that Mr. Potter attended the recent Christmas Ball accompanied by Miss Ginny Weasley. "They were pretty cosy all evening," says Chang. "By the end they were barely even aware of anything going on around them."_

_Excited as we are to have out hero return from the wilderness, the questions remain as to the temperament of the Boy-Who-Lived. Although he was accompanied by a phoenix, this mid-teenager calmly delivered thirteen bodies, claiming responsibility for the deaths. Angel or Demon? We may not yet know, but rest assured that this reporter will work tirelessly to discover the truth._

It was early evening at the Burrow, when Arthur declared that there was work to be done. The excitement that accompanied Harry and Ginny's story quickly faded and a melancholy air had settled in. Madame Pomfrey had been to the house, and had cleaned the body of Molly Weasley ready for the funeral. Her eyes had been closed and her expression magically composed into one of peace. Arthur had chosen a flowery dress for his wife's final journey, which had been spelled on to her, by the medi-witch, who had sadly performed this act many times before. It had been a long time since the departed had been such a close friend, however, and Poppy Pomfrey's eyes were shedding silent tears as she carried out her duty.

Sirius and Remus had been despatched by Arthur to spread word to Order members, and select other individuals, that Molly's funeral would take place at sunrise, the following morning. The patriarch spoke seriously and quietly to his family, while Harry and his faithful animal companions sat on the porch steps, keeping watch in the dark of the winter evening. It was traditional for deceased members of the Weasley clan to return to their earthy roots and to rejoin the travelling spirits of their forebears. Cremated atop a funeral pyre of fallen wood, Molly Weasley's ashes would be carried by the wild winter winds, across fields and forests, and she would become one with the earth once more. The Weasley's were an old family, not rich or high in status like the Potters or the Malfoys, but instead traced their origins back to ancient travellers. They were people of the land, free-spirits, strong-willed and fiery tempered.

Arthur finished his lesson on the ancient customs by explaining what would happen at the end of the ceremony.

"…And the remaining family members take it in turns to set the pyre ablaze."

"How Dad?" Ron asked. "With an _Incendio_ or something?"

Arthur smiled at his son. "No Ron. It will be done in the traditional Weasley way." Both Ron and Ginny were puzzled by his response, but the older boys all appeared to understand. Ginny was about to speak when Charlie beat her to it.

"Maybe we should go outside, Dad. So we can show them?"

"No Charlie," replied his father. "This is my task. It's something a Weasley father passes on to his children. The rest of you boys – it's up to you to collect the wood. Go out into the orchard and the woods beyond and fetch enough fallen wood to make a fitting pyre for…"

Arthur Weasley paused for a moment, needing a second to gather himself before he spoke the words out loud.

"…for your mother."

As the family slowly rose from their seats, Ron and Ginny looked questioningly at their brothers, who remained stoic. The idea of collecting firewood to cremate their own mother was not a happy one.

"Ron, Ginny, follow me," instructed Arthur. "OK boys, don't dally. It's cold out there." The family headed out of the house through the kitchen door.

Outside the house, Ginny quickly found Harry who had been sitting between his wolf and his panther for warmth.

"What's happening, Gin?"

"Dad wants Ron and me to see something, so he's taking us over into the field. Everyone else is going to collect firewood."

"Firewood? Why?"

"For tomorrow. I'll explain later. OK?"

"OK, my love. I'll stay here and keep an eye on the house."

"Thank you. I'm sorry for leaving you out, but…"

"…This is family stuff. It's OK. I understand."

"GINNY!" called a voice. The rest of her family were already into the orchard.

"I've got to go. We'll talk later." Ginny ran off after her father, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts, and the sounds of the cold winter evening.

In the darkness of a January evening, there was little to be seen in an empty field, except the moonlit breath of three weary and grieving family members. "Ron, Ginny," began Arthur. "It's time for you to learn another of the Weasley family secrets. Usually this is taught when you reach seventeen, but tragic circumstances lead to drastic and unorthodox ways. There is a very good reason why the Weasley family has red hair, why we don't really feel the cold, and why we are all emotional and passionate people."

As he spoke, Arthur slowly lifted his right hand out in front of him, palm facing upwards.

"The Weasleys are a family of FIRE!" As he spoke the last word, a single flame appeared on his outstretched hand, and burned a foot high, illuminating the group.

"Whoa!" called out Ron.

Ginny, aware of her own abilities was less surprised. "So all of them can do this?" she asked her dad.

"Yes," replied the middle aged man. "As each of them turned seventeen, I brought them to this very place and taught them how to channel the Weasley family fire."

"Bloody hell!" whispered Ron, as the flame light lit the small group. "You're going to teach this to me and Ginny?"

"Yes Ron," Arthur began, although Ginny quickly cut him off.

"Actually, I already can."

"WHAT?" shouted Ron. "How come I'm the last to know?"

Arthur ignored his youngest son, and focussed on his daughter instead. "How did you learn, Ginny?"

"I just felt this urge one day, I suppose. It was a long time ago. I can't really remember."

"How long ago, sweetheart? A few months, last year?" asked the patriarch.

"I think I was about seven, actually."

"Oh my!" exclaimed Arthur.

"Well show us…" cried Ron impatiently.

"OK, but…" Ginny trailed off as she stopped to think for a moment. After a few seconds, she lifted her right hand, holding it flat, palm uppermost, just like her father had done. A small appeared, barely an inch high in the centre of her palm. Slowly, as her father and youngest brother watched in astonishment, Ginny let the flame grow to a foot and then caused it to cycle through the colours of the rainbow.

The morning of January 2nd was cold, clear and crisp. Even before the sun had risen, eight red-headed people stood silently in a circle, in the centre of a secluded field. The field lay behind the strange wooden house that stood silent and still. No fire burned in the hearth. No breakfast was sizzling on the stove. The occupants of the house had risen before the sun on this most difficult of days in order to begin the distressing task that faced them.

In the middle of the group of silent sentinels a neatly stacked platform had been constructed out of fallen boughs and collected branches. The oldest Weasley sons had built a pyre a full six feet high, eight feet long and four feet across. Larger pieces of wood from the woods beyond the orchard – oak, elm and larch - formed a steady base, before smaller pieces of apple, pear and cherrywood from Molly Weasley's beloved orchard gave the pyre a smooth top on which the preserved body had been placed.

It was in the final ten minutes prior to sunrise that the Order of the Phoenix members, as well as select few other invitees began to arrive at the periphery of the Burrow's estate. From the shadow of the trees that lined the lane down to the house, a black haired, green-eyed young man watched the sombre group arriving. His guardians were there, of course and Dumbledore, looking stately in black robes embroidered with silver emblems. A few people dressed in Auror's robes walked quickly and efficiently down the lane, followed by five that Harry did recognise; Professors Snape, McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick, along with Poppy Pomfrey had joined the contingent invited to pay their respects. Other Phoenix members Harry didn't recognise arrived, just in time as soon the sun would begin to rise above the horizon.

As the assembled respect-payers gathered in the seats that had been arranged in the same field as the funeral pyre, Arthur Weasley led his family out of their vigil and into the front row of chairs. Three roughly arranged rows of about ten soft but plain seats were placed in front of a small platform. Twenty feet or so beyond the platform stood the stark and harsh sight of Molly Weasley's dead body, atop a pile of wood that every onlooker knew would soon be set ablaze and consume her.

The imperious form of Albus Dumbledore stepped lightly on to the small platform. As was customary when the great man rose to speak, the gentle murmurings of the group hushed and each person respectfully began to listen.

"My friends, young and old, it is my sad duty to welcome you on behalf of Arthur and his family to their home, on this, the most forlorn of days…"

From his place in the trees, Harry Potter's impeccable hearing listened to each word as it hung on the freezing January air. Although the hunter inside could not bring him to mourn for a person he had never met, the words of the wizened headmaster chilled him to the bone. How many more would die before the Dark Lord was vanquished.

"…and I wish her well, on her next great adventure."

Albus Dumbledore, looking tired and careworn, stepped gingerly down from the small wooden plinth, to have his place taken by Pomona Sprout. Harry supposed that the Herbology teacher had been Mrs. Weasley's head of house as she made her own journey through the institution that was Hogwarts.

"…and I will always remember how she used to mother the first years…"

The next person to speak was a tired and troubled looking man. His thinning hair was unkempt and his robes slightly dishevelled. To Harry, the man he had spoken with only a few times seemed broken, incomplete. Still, Harry supposed, if he ever found himself without Ginny, he would no doubt feel equally devastated.

"My friends, my comrades and my children," began Arthur Weasley, his voice ragged with suppressed emotion. "Molly was my soul mate, my kindred spirit, my angel. I can't begin to explain how much I loved her, or how much she loved us. She was the rock that our family was built on, the glue that held us together, the fire that kept our hearts warm.

"Fire. There is no doubt Molly was a firebrand. She was passionate and fiercely protective, stronger than many will ever realise. Yes, she was strict and quick to unleash her fiery temper – well you had to be living with the twins…"

A vague ripple of humour spread through the group. Fred and George smiled wistfully to each other.

"…but she was unbelievably kind and caring too. I am simple man, and I deal with life in my own simple way. To my mind, my life is like a book, each day a little more is written. I have a chapter for each of my wonderful children, one for work, one for all those interesting things that the Muggles have. And of course I have a chapter entitled Molly Prewett. After today, no more words will be written in that chapter, and yes this grieves me incredibly. To live the rest of my days without that amazing woman by my side will be the hardest task I shall ever face. But I shall take comfort from knowing that I will always be able to look back through that chapter, and relive the best parts over and over again. Remembering Molly, and the times we have shared will be a joy. I shall remember her with love in my heart and not sorrow, for ours was a wonderful marriage, and she was a wonderful person."

After a brief pause to gather himself, the widower continued.

"In these seats in front of me, I don't just see seven amazing young adults, or my seven beloved children. As well I see a legacy. The legacy of Molly Weasley, left in the considerable hands of seven passionate, fiery, strong and fierce young men and woman. Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny…"

The father looked deep into the eyes of each of his children in turn."

"…You are the future of the Weasley family. Live your lives as your mother lived hers. Make her proud, just as you always have."

Arthur Weasley stepped from the podium, his eyes shining with tears and his hands trembling. Fortunately, his children all stood to meet him with a group hug that strengthened the man who was drained by his emotional oration.

One Weasley broke from the group and took their place on the platform, and readied herself to speak to the grieving crowd. After a few seconds to gather her thoughts, Ginny's voice sang across the fields.

"Professors, friends, Order members, dad, my brothers, my shadow…" she began. Although everyone heard the words, only a few knew she was also speaking to Harry when she spoke of her shadow.

"…My mother was a wonderful person, an inspiration and the kind of person I hope to be. Full of love and kindness and everything a mother should be. Remember her fondly, as I will."

Although Ginny's speech was short, the voice of a phoenix imbued her words, leaving each and every member of the congregation encouraged and uplifted after the emotionally heavy and sombre words of her father.

As Ginny's stepped from the platform, the first rays of the morning sunshine shone over the horizon, illuminating the cold breaths of the crowd. All around the field - the mourners saw for the first time - were the bright yellow flowers of numerous Winter Jasmine plants, and as the eight Weasleys moved into their previous positions encircling the funeral pyre, the rising sun caught the scene and bathed it in a golden haze.

From his place in the circle, Arthur stepped forward and bent down to the base of the careful wooden pile. "Farewell my beloved. Join your brothers in peace," he whispered. As he did so, a small flame jumped from his open hand and into the base of the pyre.

Bill, to his father's left, spoke firmly as he let a small ball of fire appear in his hand. "Goodbye Mum. Fly on the wind, wherever it takes you." The ball of fire was set calmly into the wood.

Charlie was to Bill's left, and without moving from his place in the circle, he fired two small rockets of flame into the base of the pyre, before speaking his final words to his mother. "We'll never forget you."

Percy looked as if he wanted to say so many things, but didn't trust himself not to break down. With shaking hands, he placed a ball of fire into the wood in front of his position. The twins were stood together in the circle, and as everyone expected of them, their action was simultaneous and tinged with mischief. Each sent two small fireballs bouncing into the log pile, as they spoke together. "Keep watching over us, Mum."

Ron had watched each of his brothers and his father perform their duty with dignity. Taking a deep breath, he steadied his hands and allowed a flame to grow in them. Carefully, he bent down to the logs in front of him and allowed the flame to cross onto the cold, hard wood. "Goodbye, mum," the youngest Weasley male whispered.

Ginny looked around her brothers in turn, starting with Ron, and working round the circle, to George, then Fred, then Percy, Charlie and Bill. To each sibling she gave a smile, hoping to convey both love and support to them. Finally, she met the gaze of her father, who smiled back at her and gave a small approving nod.

"Goodbye mum," Ginny spoke purposefully. "You were amazing."

The smallest and youngest person at the gathering then raised her hands in front of her and simply let her magic flow. The assembled well-wishers gasped as two streams of searing hot flame streaked into the wooden pile, quickly engulfing it in bright flames. With the intense heat of the phoenix powered fire, the mass of oak, larch, elm, apple, pear and cherry was soon consumed, and along with it, the cold and lifeless body of Molly Weasley.

As the flames began to die back, leaving only a pile of glowing embers and white ash, a breeze began to blow around the Burrow, sweeping across the field in which a family and assorted comrades said farewell to their mother and friend.

The breeze picked up into a wind, and Arthur Weasley let a tear fall down his cheek as he watched the ashen remains of his wife blow across the countryside.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

A/N Now that's finished, I'm thirsty. Time for a glass of my favourite wine – Shiraz.


	3. Chapter 3

Many thanks to everyone who has read and/or reviewed so far

Many thanks to everyone who has read and/or reviewed so far. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

**Chapter 3: In which serious talking turns into serious trouble**

Many hours after the sad and emotional funeral for Molly Weasley, when all the gathered mourners and well-wishing friends and Order members had left the Burrow, the Weasley family were once again left alone with their grief. The youngest, Ginny, who had tirelessly remained strong for her family throughout the day, had finally reached her limit. Exhausted from continually using her Phoenix-song infused voice to cheer her father and brothers, she sought the company of her soul mate.

Harry had taken no part in the funeral of his girlfriend's mother. He had never met the kindly woman, and consequently felt no need to mourn her passing. He was present for the sake of his friends, such as Ron and the twins, his guardians Remus and Sirius who had known her through the Order of the Phoenix, and most importantly of all, for Ginny. Watching over proceedings from afar, Harry had taken it upon himself to keep watch for further ne'er-do-wells or Death Eater miscreants. He had heard every word spoken, however, and even this hardy of hunters had been moved by the beauty of Molly Weasley's swansong.

Leaving the heavy, depressing atmosphere that was the Burrow's sitting room, Ginny made her way outside to the orchard, instinctively knowing where her love would be. Within the shadow of the trees, close to the simple creatures of nature would always be the place where the enigmatic Boy-Who-Lived felt the most comfortable. With near silent steps, Ginny approached the cherry tree under which Harry was sitting, huddled closely with the wolf and the panther for warmth on this cold, wintry afternoon. Ginny's fox padded ahead of her, greeting the wolf and panther with a brief touch of their snouts, while the phoenix flew close by her as she walked.

Harry lazily gestured his hand to the ground beside him and a twig transfigured smoothly into a blanket for the girl to sit on. As she sat, the wolf moved so that the young couple could sit side by side, the lupine taking a new position to Ginny's other side.

"It's freezing out here Harry," she said quietly.

"I'm OK," he replied, although she could tell he really was cold.

Ginny sighed and pointed her right palm at a spot a few feet away. A green fire crackled into life, inexplicably burning no fuel, but still warming the area in which the teens sat.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled.

"S'OK."

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, in which the pair simply sat with their arms draped carelessly around each other, it was Harry who spoke.

"If you want to talk about anything…"

"In a minute, OK? I'm trying to figure out where to start."

"OK, my sweetheart. Just let me know when you're ready."

It was a good twenty minutes before either of them spoke again, and when Ginny started, it was if somebody had opened the floodgates. She talked about how she had tried to be strong, to support her family and comfort them; about how distraught she felt at the loss of her mother. Harry did his best to comfort his girlfriend; tried to reassure her how soothing her words at the funeral had surely been, but Harry was not known for his extensive emotional development, thanks to his treatment at the Dursleys, living in the orphanage and then with the two men.

Finally, Ginny raised a third subject.

"I can't believe we killed another twelve people. I'm not sure I know who I am anymore. I thought I was pure and good – I'm supposed to be partly a phoenix but I've killed thirteen people. We didn't pause or hesitate…but the worst thing is, I don't really feel sorry for what I've done. I'm so confused."

The girl paused for a moment to run her hands through her long red hair. "And then on top of it all, there's this prophecy. Shadowfire. I feel is if the whole world is now relying on me to be something amazing, some great saviour. But I just don't know if I'm capable of being that person. I don't know if I'm strong enough."

Harry sighed as his mate finished her tired speech. Gathering his thoughts he tried his best to alleviate her concerns.

"My dear Ginny. There isn't a day goes by that I don't wonder if I'm strong enough to be what society expects of me. One of the more cowardly reasons for hiding my identity all these years is so I didn't have to carry the burden of expectation everywhere I went. Do you know what? At my lowest moments, when things seem at their most daunting, I think of my friends and of Sirius and Remus, and most of all of course, I think of you. They all and you give me strength. You are my rock, my reasons to live, the things in my life that I'll know I'll always fight for. In the same way I have no doubt when the times come, you will draw the strength and the courage you need from your friends and your family and from me. There's nothing I have that I wouldn't give to you in a heartbeat; my possessions, my protection, my support. I believe you'll always have the strength you need when the challenges are looming. You're a Weasley, after all. Most stubborn of all the ancient families."

Ginny's mouth twitched a little at Harry's gently humorous remark. The phoenix that had been settled in a nearby apple tree flew down close to her human counterpart. As it stretched out its magnificent wings, the teens saw that some of the feathers now had dark patches, leaving black strips across the tip of each wing. Seeing the change, Ginny gasped.

"Look, Harry. She is tainted with the dark."

"I think, my love, that this is merely a reflection that there are now dark and unsavoury events in your past. These events have occurred, they are a part of you, and the plumage reflects that. Whilst the Phoenix is used as a symbol of all that is good, or light, or pure, the bird is still a creature, with animalistic instincts. It will seek out a mate, reproduce and raise young. It will defend its territory and protect its nest. What we did here yesterday was not evil, or callous or bloodthirsty violence for its own sake. No, this was basic animal survival instinct. Those bastards were going to destroy your home and kill you and your family, but your instincts were to survive and protect your home in the only way possible – kill them first."

Sfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsf

As was often the case for this pair, Harry and Ginny talked for many hours. At some point, they decided that their friends, Luna, Hermione and Grace should be told the truth. The other member of their little group, Ron, now knew everything, and Harry's ethics on honesty were not happy keeping secrets from the others any longer. They decided that Ginny would explain things to Luna, whilst Harry would visit Hermione and Grace. Time was of the essence; they felt, as the Prophet article would no doubt have been seen by at least Luna. The Grangers, they hoped, wouldn't be getting the wizarding paper delivered by owl to their muggle home. As well, it was only a matter of time before news of Trelawney's prophecy made its way into the public domain – it had been spoken in front of a hall of people, after all.

Harry had never made the connection before, but it turned out that the Granger's lived on the same housing estate as the Dursleys, albeit a different side. There was a park in the centre of the district, in which Harry arranged to meet Grace and Hermione on the day after the funeral. Harry used Ginny's phoenix to flame him to a small clump of trees that grew in a corner of the park. Across the other side, perhaps a couple of hundred yards away, a small and tired playground stood empty in the cold, grey January morning. Harry's eyes scanned to the left, past the vandalised swings to where he was told a bench would be.

A sole female sat on the tired and broken bench. Her breath hung on the cold winter air for a fraction of a second before fading. As Harry approached, he recognised the brown hair that hung out from underneath a woolly hat. "Where was Grace?" Harry wondered as he quickly strode across the scrubby grass, that crunched under his footsteps thanks to a heavy frost.

"Hello Hermione," Harry called softly as he reached the girl.

"Hi. Happy New Year," she replied.

"If only it was," the boy responded grimly, as he sat down on the bench. After a moment of awkward silence, it was Harry who spoke next.

"Where's Grace?"

"She decided not to come. She's upset, feels that you lied to her and that she doesn't know who you are anymore."

"How come?"

"We get the Prophet, Adam. Harry. Shit, what are we supposed to call you now?"

"Adam, please. I hadn't thought you'd know what happened already. So what about you Hermione? What do you think?"

"I'm a Gryffindor, so I'm brave enough to come and see someone who's just killed thirteen people without remorse. At least I want to hear your side of the story. I think you owe us some answers."

"You're right. I do owe you that. Can we go to your house? I don't want to talk out here?"

The pair made their way in silence through the maze of streets that made up the Whinging housing estate. Privet Drive was in Little Whinging, to the South side. Hermione and Grace lived in Greater Whinging, which was to the North of the park. The playing field was the dividing line between the two communities, and often a place of conflict for the young males of each area. As Harry and Hermione slipped through the north gate and into the residential area, a large, blonde haired boy with a couple of companions entered the park from the south side, looking for 'Northerners' to harass.

The young witch and wizard were long gone, however, and quickly found themselves at the Granger's home. Harry politely took off his shoes as he entered the smart, modern house, and dutifully followed his fried to the kitchen.

"Do you want some tea?" Hermione asked, as she filled the kettle.

"Yes, please."

Harry leaned casually against the kitchen units as Hermione busied herself with mugs and milk.

"Where are your parents?"

"Working. The practice opened again after the break."

"And Grace?"

"In her room I expect."

Hermione soon brought two mugs of steaming tea to the kitchen table, and the pair sat down. Hermione blew and sipped at the hot liquid, waiting patiently for Harry to begin his story. He was about to speak when his wolf-enhanced ears heard the sound of light footsteps, creeping down the stairs, up the hall and then stopping outside the kitchen door. Inwardly Harry was pleased – Grace would at least hear what he had to say.

"What happened at the Burrow, and afterwards at Diagon Alley with the Minister…it left Ginny and I in a position where we had to tell her family everything. About me, us, so many things. I wasn't prepared to have Ron know the truth and not you and Grace, and Ginny has gone to see Luna today. I hadn't counted on your reading the Prophet, but that is only a fraction of what I'm going to tell you.

"The night my parents were killed, Dumbledore made the decision to ignore their will, and took me to my mother's sister's home. He left me on their doorstep wrapped in a blanket. The old man thought it was for the best that I grew up away from the overbearing society that is Wizarding Britain; a society that will place you on a pedestal one day and crucify you the next. What he didn't know about, was the bitter enmity between my mother and my aunt. They despised everything about each other, and although they were not so cruel as to turn me away, my aunt and her husband did barely enough to keep me alive. I was kept in a cupboard, and used as a servant as soon as I was big enough. Dumbledore's choice to keep me safe from the monster that is our culture, meant sending me to hell."

Hermione had tears falling down her cheeks at Harry's description of his early years. There was a waver in the normally stoic boy's voice too, but he paused only for a moment before continuing.

"On my fifth birthday, and I only found this out that it had been my birthday three years later, I woke up with five tattoos on me. There is a snake here on my wrist." Harry pulled up his right sleeve a little, causing Hermione to gasp.

"A spider on a web on the back of my neck, a falcon on my left arm, a wolf on my chest and a panther on my back. Well, suffice to say my Aunt and Uncle were not pleased at all. That was the day my uncle drove into London and left me on the steps of an orphanage. He had driven away before I had even climbed up the steps. It was here that I was given the name Adam Black."

"Why?" Hermione interrupted. "Why didn't you tell your real name?"

Harry looked down into his cup of tea, for a moment to gather himself, before looking up again and meeting Hermione's gaze. "Because I didn't know it. They had only ever called me 'freak' or 'boy'. I never knew my real name until later."

Harry heard a tiny sob from outside the kitchen door. Maybe his friendship with his first ever friend would last after all.

"I met Grace at the orphanage, as you know. She was the first friend I ever had, and for the three years I was there the only friend. On my eighth birthday, two men came. They were friends of my parents and they took me to live with them. As we drove away from St. Christopher's, they told me who I was, Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived. I asked them to call me Adam. Harry Potter no longer existed, as far as I was concerned. He had died the moment Dumbledore tried to save him, but managed only to condemn him to misery."

It was at this moment that the kitchen door burst open and Grace flew through the door. Her face was red and her eyes puffy from crying. She flew across the room and launched herself at her childhood friend. Harry barely had time to put his cup down on the table before Grace's hug engulfed him, and she sobbed into his shoulder.

When she calmed enough, Harry lifted the blonde haired girl on to his lap. "Grace, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you who I was before. I really am."

"It's OK, Adam. After hearing what you said, I can understand. I realised when we were at St. Christopher's that you hadn't been treated well, but I must have been too young to realise what a state you must have been in."

"Let's try and put it behind us. You know the truth now, but I'm still Adam. I'm still the same person I was before you knew my real name."

"But," added in Hermione at this point. "Back then you were just our friend Adam. Now you're our friend Adam who's just killed thirteen people. That's a lot to accept, you know."

Harry sighed, and lifted Grace onto a third chair. "I suppose I should continue with my tale. You might know my real name now, but I'm afraid you still don't really know _me._"

"What? I don't understand," said Grace.

"Let's go back to my fifth birthday. Do you remember what I showed you when I came to the orphanage? What you promised to keep a secret?"

"Your tattoos. You said they appeared overnight."

"Yes. Except, there's a little more to them than that…"

A lot of talking later, Hermione and Grace Granger were the next privileged pair of people to learn about Harry and Ginny's animals, the connection between them and how it affected their magic. Hermione was fascinated with it all; the Shadowfire prophecy, the combined magic, the impossible things that the pair managed to accomplish. Harry used his story to try and explain his lack of remorse at killing those that threatened him, or those he loved. He was part animal, and predatory in nature. Killing for survival was a perfectly reasonable concept for the Boy-Who-Lived. Due to their platonic love for their enigmatic friend, the two cousins accept this facet of his personality unquestioningly.

Many miles away, Ginny was having a similar conversation with Luna Lovegood. The Ravenclaw was far less concerned with motive and reason, and accepted all that Ginny told her with her usual dreamy acknowledgement of the unusual. The two friends quickly drifted on to other topics, such as Harry's prowess with kissing, and whether Ginny believed Ron would ever ask out Hermione.

Back in Surrey, the girls prepared a light lunch for themselves and their guest, of ham and chicken sandwiches, crisps, fruit and tea. Part way through his third sandwich, Harry stopped chewing and became suddenly alert.

"What is…?" Hermione began, but Harry's hand was quickly over her mouth.

"Your parents don't come home for lunch, do they?" he whispered. Hermione shook her head quickly while Grace paled at the urgency in Harry's actions.

"We have company. They're still outside, in the back garden, but I can hear them, thanks to the wolf." Following Harry's explanation and subsequent demonstration of his animals, the wolf stayed 'out', and had found a warm spot next to a radiator in the Grangers' hall.

"What do we do?" whispered Grace.

"Out the front, quickly."

Harry ushered the girls out of the kitchen into the hall, and out of the front door. The girls started running up the street, but Harry stopped at the end of the front garden. The falcon was swiftly away and over the house, acting as Harry's eyes as the two Death Eaters reached the back door and began discussing their plan of action. Harry crept up the side of the Granger's home, following the panther and the wolf that he sent in front of him. The animals leapt nimbly over the low side gate, and Harry quickly followed, before the three rushed around the corner of the house, catching the Death Eaters by surprise. The powerful animals each took down their man in the blink of an eye, as the men were too stunned by the sight of them to react, let alone defend themselves. In barely a moment, the pair was dead, their throats shredded to a bloody pulp and their masks and robes torn and splattered with gore.

Breathing fast with relief, and with his heart pounding, Harry summoned enough happy thoughts to send a message bearing Patronus to Sirius and Remus, who arrived quickly with identical apparition cracks.

"Merlin Adam, what did you do now?" gasped Sirius as he saw the mangled bodies.

"No time to explain – I've gotta find the girls. Can you take care of this?"

Remus was just about to reply with "What girls?" but Harry was already round the side of the house and charging down the street.

"I reckon we should call Shacklebolt," suggested Sirius. "And maybe Tonks?" he added, with a wink.

Remus glared at his friend momentarily, before sending off a Patronus towards the DMLE.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Using the eyes of his falcon, Harry soon found both Grace and Hermione back at the park. Grace had managed to reach the relative safety of the copse of trees that Harry had originally arrived in, several hours earlier. Hermione had not been so lucky, it appeared.

After the cousins ran away from their home, a third Death Eater appeared and began to follow them. The girls reached the park together easily enough, but Hermione began to tire and lag behind Grace. Grace had reached the trees before she realised her surrogate sister had tripped and fallen. The Death Eater loomed over her.

"I was given instructions to kill you if I could, little girl" the Death Eater growled, as he stood menacingly above the stricken Hermione. "But instead I think I might keep you as a pet. _Inc…_"

The incantation for the binding spell was barely forming on his lips two large black animals bowled the man over. The Death Eater rolled away from the beasts, only to see the snarling panther bearing down on him. The man felt for his wand, but a moment later heard a cracking noise as the wolf bit through it.

It was only a moment before Harry caught up with his furry counterparts and he instantly called them to his side. Hermione scrambled to get behind him, putting the two large and dangerous beasts, as well as the formidable Boy-Who-Lived between herself and her would-be captor.

"You disgust me," Harry whispered harshly. "Attacking a girl for the pleasure of it, or at the whim of a psychopath. Why shouldn't I add you to the list of idiots I've killed?"

The Death Eater didn't get the chance to reply before a flash signalled the arrival of Ginny's phoenix.

"What is it?" Harry asked the magnificent bird, sensing its agitation.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Luna and Ginny were happily ensconced on the lounge sofa, gossiping about Ron when something that sounded a lot like a parrot squawking went off, resonating through the Lovegood's home.

"What on earth is that?" Ginny asked her friend.

"The friend or foes wards," Luna replied. "Someone who means us harm is coming."

Ginny ran to the window of the lounge and peered out. In the tree line of the nearby woods, she made out the shapes of six cloaked adults. They were heading towards the house, and each was wearing a white mask.

"It's Death Eaters. Quick, lets Floo to the Burrow," said Ginny, hurriedly.

"We can't, Daddy didn't pay his fee in protest over having to pay a fee. All we can do is make emergency calls," wailed the blonde girl.

"Well, call the Burrow then. I'll hold them off."

"Ginny, you can't do that…"

"Just do it, Luna," Ginny commanded, as red-hot flames began to dance in her fingertips. "These bastards killed my mother. They are going to burn."

Outside of the house, Ginny dispatched the Phoenix to Harry, desperately hoping he would come to her side. In the mean time, it was down to her to protect Luna, and the Lovegood's house, and get a bit of payback into the bargain. The Weasley temper flared, seven generations of repressed female Weasley magic flowed through her veins, and she strode towards the oncoming idiots who were going to face her wrath.

"HELLO? HELLO? ANYONE?" called Luna into the Burrow's kitchen.

Charlie, who had been in the lounge, heard the voice and thought it sounded familiar. He left the morning's edition of the Daily Prophet on the worn armchair he had been sat in, and rushed towards the fireplace in the kitchen.

"Luna? What is it?"

"Death Eaters. Ginny's gone to fight them," cried Luna.

"Shit! I'll get my brothers. We'll be there."

The distance closed rapidly between the oncoming Death Eaters and the single flame-haired girl. The aggressors we clearly amused by the sight of Ginny Weasley marching towards them, but they were not prepared for two searing hot balls of fire to suddenly hurtle towards them when the girl was within thirty yards or so.

Four of the six managed to block the fireballs with hastily cast shields. One got a partial block in place but a little flame slipped through, setting the robes of his wand arm alight. Even after an even quicker cast _Aguamenti_, the man's arm was useless, his wand burnt to ash. The heat of Ginny's fireball left the limb burnt beyond repair.

The sixth Death Eater was struck full in the chest by Ginny's missile, and within a few seconds was completely consumed by flames, dying painfully in the service of the Dark Lord.

Ginny had time to unleash two more deathly hot balls of fire before her opponents started to return fire. Another was incapacitated, and anther dead, but the remaining two forced Ginny on the defensive. At least she could shield their spells with her wand and still send the fireballs with the other hand, but when they switched to the Unforgiveables, the teenager had to dodge.

"Where the hell is Harry?" she thought as a cutting spell nicked her left arm, causing blood to spray. The adrenaline of the fight kept her from crying out, however, as she managed to nail her fifth opponent. The sixth Death Eater was beginning to tire, and was feeling the strain of defending against the scorching fire of the Weasley girl. Just as he was on the verge of disapparating, four cracks snapped though the air, distracting the Death Eater and Ginny alike.

The four newcomers took their place in the fight, which was over within moments…


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks as always to SNB. LAx

Chapter 4: In which oaths are pledged

It was another five or six minutes before Remus and Sirius ran into the scrubby, tatty recreation ground that separated Little Whinging from its more upmarket neighbour. Across the uncut grass they quickly saw Harry. His arms were comforting two similarly aged girls that the men recognised as Hermione and Grace Granger. A few paces away from the trio was an unmoving, black cloaked, body-shaped object.

"Looks like he got another one, Padfoot," remarked the werewolf, as they jogged across towards the group.

"Yep. I can't quite believe it, Moony," Sirius replied solemnly. "He's killed as many people as he is years old."

"True, but I'm not convinced Death Eaters count as people."

The old Marauders reached their charge and his friends quickly enough, but were given no time to speak, as Harry quickly assumed control once more.

"I need you to take Hermione and Grace back to their home. Stay with them and keep them safe. Sirius, while you're there, contact Gringotts. I want their home warded."

"What about…?" Remus started, gesturing towards the dead Death Eater.

"I'll take care of it. But I've got to go – Ginny's phoenix appeared about five minutes ago wanting me to go with it. I stayed to look after these two until you guys caught up."

"Alright, pup," said Sirius. "Be careful."

"Aren't I always?" said Harry, but before his guardians could respond, the boy let go of his female friends, grabbed a hold of the body and was gone.

~*~*~

Four more Death Eaters appeared alongside their fallen comrades and the one lone survivor, but had little time to take in the carnage around them as a fireball immediately flew towards them. Luckily for the men in black, their assailant was tiring, and the burning projectile was blocked at the last minute by the central Death Eater.

"Is that the best you've got, little girl?" taunted a sneering, masked voice.

The other new arrivals laughed raucously, amused by the defiant teenager stood yards from them, her face glistening with sweat and her fiery red hair tossed by the wind. As is often the case with cowards or bullies, arrogance proved to be their undoing. As the men laughed, the pops of multiple apparition were not heard. Six red-headed young men appeared as little as fifteen feet behind the Death Eaters.

Ginny smiled weakly at the sight of her brothers, and dropped to her knees. She was exhausted, and could no longer stand upright. The leader of this small group of Voldemort's sycophants looked on with glee, raising his wand towards the girl who has somehow left six of his fellows dead or dying. The man hadn't even decided which spell to cast when two short range, hate-fuelled and revenge inspired _Reductof _curses ripped his body apart. The other four Death Eaters suffered similar fates, from cutting curses, blasting or bludgeoning spells cast at far too close a proximity to survive a direct hit to the head or neck.

After a moment's pause, it was, as usual, Ginny's voice that cut across the silent battlefield that had only moments earlier been the Lovegoods' garden.

"Hello boys. Nice of you to drop by."

It was the eldest, Bill, who was first to react to his sister's situation. "Bloody hell, Gin. What have you been up to now?" The young man covered the ground to Ginny and sank to his knees in front of her.

"These bastards turned up and I started roasting. I assume Luna managed to get through to you."

"Yeah, Charlie was in the lounge and heard her voice. Are you OK? You look wiped."

"A few cuts and scrapes I expect. I'm afraid the red mist descended and adrenaline and instinct took over. I could use a shower and a sleep."

"Don't worry little sis," said Charlie. "We'll take care of you now. Where is Adam…I mean Harry?"

"Call him Adam. And he went to see Hermione and Grace – our friends from school. I sent the phoenix but she didn't bring him." Ginny's voice carried a note of panic. Why would he not have come? Had something happened to Harry too?

"Let's get back to The Burrow," ordered Percy. "We'll find Adam, and get Dad home."

"Get Luna too," replied Bill. "It's not safe here anymore."

Ron and the twins headed towards the house to find their schoolmate. Bill and Charlie lifted their young sister between them, ready to apparate back to their own home, on the other side of the woods when a burst of flame signalled the return of Ginny's phoenix. It immediately trilled a soft song, which gave the exhausted girl much needed energy, before the bird returned to its place inside her – the tattoo visible on her arm through a tear caused by a cutting curse.

Barely had the bird disappeared when Harry and a body appeared in the Lovegoods' yard. Ginny was out of her brother's support in a flash and into the arms of her beloved. After a minute of fierce hugging, sobbing and soothing words, spoken in both directions, the pair broke apart, allowing Harry to take in the scene around him. In addition to the dead body he had brought, ten more, in various states of wholeness littered the ground. Ginny was dirty, cut and dishevelled. The three eldest Weasley sons wore serious faces. In the house behind them, Harry's acute hearing could hear the other three boys looking for Luna.

Harry didn't need words to ask his question – his eyes returned to Ginny and an eyebrow raised in question.

"Six came first, and I managed to toast five without too much trouble, but four more came. Luna had managed to floo The Burrow and my brothers splattered the other five all across the garden. What about you?" There was no need for details. This was a time for being concise.

"Death Eaters came to their house. I got two at the back door, but this one chased the girls as they went out the front. I caught up with them as he tried to curse Hermione. Sirius and Remus are taking care of them…and the other carcasses."

As Harry's briefing concluded, Luna, Ron and the twins emerged from the Lovegoods' house.

"Hello Adam," called the blonde-haired girl. "It is nice to see you. Such a shame it isn't under better circumstances." She looked about the garden at the mess therein. "Oh dear! We aren't going to attract many Nargles with all these body parts littering the grass."

"Luna's right," said Bill, earning him some bemused looks from his brothers. "I mean, we can't leave these bodies here."

"Burn them?" suggested Fred, with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Don't leave any evidence that way," added George.

"I agree," said Charlie, looking at Bill. The brothers knew who their decision maker was.

"Harry? Ginny?" asked Bill expectantly, surprising the younger wizard and witch?

"Huh?" they replied together.

"Oh come on. You two are the real deal. We follow in your footsteps," explained Bill seriously.

"Fine," ground out Harry, clearly not happy with his level of responsibility over these young men. "Transfigure the bodies into sticks and set them into the shape of a fire. Then one of you can torch them. I'm taking Ginny and Luna back to The Burrow. We shall be talking about this 'following in our footsteps' idea of your later."

Hphphphphphphphphphphphphphp

It was a fair few hours later that found Harry and Ginny sitting alone in the Burrow's kitchen. A thick and wholesome stew bubbled lazily on the ancient cooker – it was the only thing that Arthur Weasley had ever really learned how to cook. It wasn't hard, to be fair; set a few knives to chop vegetables, add some meat, a few herbs, some salt and pepper and set on the flame with a spoon set to stir once every two minutes. It certainly wouldn't rival Molly's standards, as there would be no freshly baked rolls, or hot sponge pudding to follow, but it would be enough to fill the stomachs of seven large boys, himself and his daughter.

The old Weasley family clock ticked loudly as it always did; never needing to be wound. The hand of Molly Weasley had tarnished and blackened in the days since her untimely death, and it now pointed downwards, to a small segment marked "deceased". The two young teens huddled over cups of hot chocolate, as they sat beside one another on one of the two simple wooden benches that flanked the age old table. Many generations of Weasleys had eaten their meals from this table, and its once shiny varnish had long since been replaced by a patina of marks, grooves, spills and slops.

Harry and Ginny had now killed twenty-two Death Eaters between them, although the official statistic would be twenty-seven, when including Draco Malfoy and the five that the Weasley boys had taken out. It was this very issue that they were discussing.

"The Ministry aren't going to let this continue, Harry. What if they arrest us?"

"I think Fudge would have a hard time if he tried, but you're right. I'm not as concerned about the body count as you, but it does make things complicated. I think we need to get some advice. This Shadowfire prophecy business is difficult. I'm confused as to whether I'm a teenager or a bloody Superhero."

"Should we ask Dad?"

"It'd be a start, I suppose. No disrespect to him, but I think long term we're going to need more guidance than he can give though."

Ginny shrugged, before sliding off the bench and stepping silently into the next room. Harry listened to her speak quietly to her father, who had been listening to the WWN whilst resting by the lounge fire. A few moments later, father and daughter returned to the kitchen. Arthur sat in his usual place at the table's head, while Ginny poured him some hot chocolate from a pitcher that warmed on the stove before resuming her place at her boyfriend's side.

"Ginny says you want my advice, Harry."

"Yes, Mr. Weasley, we do. The prophecy…Shadowfire, and all it seems to entail. Well, it's complicated, and while we seem to manage in the heat of the moment, we cannot continue to run from one fight to the next. It appears we are to be the saviours of all that is good in our magical society, eradicating evil wherever we can, but how are we supposed to achieve this? We know little of Voldemort and his capabilities – we are only school kids, for Merlin's sake." Harry paused and took a breath, which gave Ginny the chance to take up the spiel.

"We need help, Dad. Guidance, support, advice…counsel."

Arthur quietly contemplated the words of the two people in front of him. Only a few months ago, his daughter was a typical young witch, enjoying her school days at Hogwarts, making friends and playing Quidditch. Now she was one half of the world's most devastating magical couple, with over twenty dead Death Eaters to her credit. His wife was dead. The mundane stability on which his life had been based since Voldemort's first downfall had been completely shattered. A life, however, which had to go on, and fate, it seemed had placed his family in the forefront of all the excitement. The youngsters waited patiently for him to respond.

"Ginny. Harry. I agree entirely that you need help. Whilst your efforts against the dark side are tremendous, it grieves me to think that two as young as yourselves have killed so many, and with such ease. If we are to believe this prophecy, then you will lead the good in the fight against evil, but every leader has his advisers. The muggle Prime Minister has a cabinet of senior politicians. The Minister of Magic has department heads. I believe you need a council of advisers, of which I would like to be one. I would suggest Dumbledore as another. However, I suggest this group should be the people **you** trust to guide **you**. It is not about me."

The middle aged man rose from his seat and sidled round the table. He bent down between the teens, so that he could give each a one armed hug that he hoped would convey support.

"Think about it over dinner. I don't think you should dally on this. If I can, I will assemble your group for tomorrow."

Sfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsf

The following afternoon, an esteemed group of wizards and one witch waited in the anteroom behind the Headmaster's office, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The room was laid out with eight seats, six of which were occupied. Albus Dumbledore sat calmly, contemplating recent events in Wizarding Britain. Barely days ago, that dramatic moment at the Yule Ball had occurred, and now, Molly Weasley had moved on to the next great adventure, Draco Malfoy was hiding under a false identity in a largely forgotten part of the school, and two teenagers had effortlessly wiped out nearly two dozen Death Eaters. The great and revered man wondered how things had spiralled out of his control so wildly.

Next to the Headmaster, sat an equally quiet and thoughtful Minerva McGonagall. She was running over and over in her mind how she had not realised this boy was the son of Lily and James. Now that she knew, she could hardly believe that she hadn't noticed the similarities. His eyes were so enchantingly green, just like Lily's had been.

Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black were all aware of the purpose of the meeting. The two Marauders had been involved in the clean-up work at Greater Whinging, while Arthur of course had been completely debriefed by his family, who had summoned him home from the Ministry earlier than usual.

The final member of the waiting group was the head of Slytherin house, Severus Snape. His brilliant mind whirled with thoughts, as usual, even though they were hid behind an immaculately constructed veneer of indifference. His cool outward demeanour belied his inner discomfort at his current proximity to Sirius Black. Remus Lupin he could tolerate as a professional courtesy – the man was a decent teacher and a respected scholar in Defence. Black was different to how Snape remembered from years ago. The pair had not crossed paths since their own school days, when Black was an arrogant troublemaker, in the Slytherin's opinion. The man now seemed calmer, more in control of himself. Severus wondered if proximity to Harry Potter was responsible for this. Despite his desire to hate the boy, Snape knew that he was a good student, proficient with potion-making and a perfect Slytherin. The boy was unassuming but always in control of himself.

A few minutes after two o'clock, the intended start time, a flash of flame startled the three educators from their introspections. In the doorway back to the Headmaster's office now stood Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, with a Phoenix resting one foot on each of the teens' shoulders.

"You're late!" remarked the Potions master, with a tone of displeasure.

"Our apologies, Professor," responded Harry calmly. "Centaurs really do use a lot of words to say very little."

The youngsters moved to the remaining seats as Harry spoke, but waited politely for the Headmaster to encourage them to sit.

"Should we understand that you have been into the Forbidden Forest?" the old man asked.

"Yes, Professor. The Shadowfire prophecy is supposedly an old Centaurean thing, so we went to ask them about it."

"Do you mean the pair of you went looking for Centaurs?" questioned McGonagall, clearly surprised by the teens' action.

"Certainly. They've been watching us all term…"

"What do you mean all term, Weasley?" barked Snape. "The forest is supposed to be forbidden."

Remus responded on the pair's behalf. "They use a clearing to practice their magic, Severus. And they are perfectly safe – Adam is more at home in amongst the trees than he is anywhere else. There is nothing that could harm him in there."

"I don't know about that Moony," said Harry modestly.

"What is the purpose of this meeting, Mr Potter?" ventured Dumbledore. "My colleagues and I are a little unclear."

"First of all, Professors, please continue to think of me as Adam Black. This is who I am now, despite my parentage and …legacy. As to the purpose of this meeting, we, that is Ginny and I want to ask for your help.

"I've no doubt that you are all aware of Trelawney's prophecy and of the Shadowfire legend to which it relates. It seems that this is the only information that exists in the world of wizards. This is why we went to speak with the Centaurs this morning. However, despite my reservations with Divination, doubts which I can see some of you share…" Harry looked particularly at the Transfiguration teacher. "…there can be no doubt that Ginny and I are those referred to."

"I beg to differ, Mr. Black," interjected Snape. "I have seen no evidence of anything special about either of you."

"I can assure you Severus, that I have seen them obliterate twelve Death Eaters in almost as few seconds. When they came to my home and killed my wife, they saved all…"

"Yes, Weasley, I've seen the pictures of the show in Diagon Alley. I'd just like to see it for myself," the potions master replied sharply.

"Gin?" prompted Harry.

Ginny glanced at her boyfriend, whose face appeared to encourage her to "demonstrate". Her father also looked approvingly at her.

"Professor Dumbledore, do you have some parchment?"

The elderly wizard thought for a moment, before reaching into an inner pocket of his robe. "Will this suffice? It is a copy of a letter I've received from the Minister of Magic."

With a slightly roguish grin, the headmaster, at Ginny's gesture, placed the parchment on the occasional table that stood in the middle of the circle of seated wizards and witch.

"You're all aware of the Weasley legacy…" The group generally murmured its assent, or in the case of Snape, nodded slightly.

"Wait!" Sirius interrupted. "Adam, are you sure you want to do this, in front of…everyone?" Harry's Godfather stressed the word everyone, while glancing sideways at his schoolyard rival.

"Really Black…" Severus began.

"No!" Harry commanded authoritatively. "Sirius is my guardian and has a right to question this. However, if there was someone who couldn't be trusted in this room, I believe we would know."

"We?" Sirius questioned.

"Ginny and myself. Do you think someone could fool us?"

"You're very sure of yourself, Mr. Black," Snape interjected.

Harry caught Snape's eye and stared at his Head of House. He was used to being able to see into a person's soul, but from Snape there were vague feelings, but those were shrouded, hidden to some extent.

"You maybe able to _Legilimens _your guardians, but I am a master at Occlumency…"

"And I distracted you so Ginny could make her assessment," Harry interrupted. Snape looked surprised at this, if not a little impressed.

"How very Slytherin of you. And, what, Miss Weasley, do you conclude?"

"That you like to give the impression of indifference. You have mastered the art of hiding your true loyalties from both of your task masters. There are three people you are loyal to. Yourself, your Godson…" Snape's eyes widened. "…And Harry, because of your love for his mother."

"How did you…?" the flummoxed man started to ask.

"WHAT?" shouted Sirius, indignant that his enemy should have been involved with Lily.

"Godson?" wondered McGonagall.

"Well," said Harry firmly. "Now that that is resolved, Ginny, will you continue?"

"Well, I seem to go a little further than the others in my ability with the manipulation of fire." Holding her hands in a cup-shape, Ginny allowed a small flame to appear within them. As the flames grew to fill her hands, it jumped up and flew in a graceful arc, landing on the Dumbledore's letter. The flames grew to approximately a foot across, before suddenly increasing in temperature, causing all except the two Weasleys present to lean back in their chairs in shock at the sudden blast of heat. A second or two later, the flames shifted into an approximate representation of the Hogwarts castle itself, earning a gasp from Minerva McGonagall, and an expletive from Sirius.

Snape, who was sitting opposite Ginny and Harry, was betrayed by his face momentarily registering his surprise at the girl's control over the element, before his steely mask regained shape. Having noticed this, however, Harry whispered into Ginny's ear, causing her to smile. She looked intently at her Potions teacher, who stared back impassively. Without shifting her focus, the flaming Hogwarts began to cycle through the colours of the rainbow, but the many gasps went unnoticed by the young pair, who were concerned only with the stunned expression on Snape's face.

Shortly after, Ginny allowed the flame to disappear, before handing the letter from the Minister back to her Head teacher, who looked at it reluctantly.

"Go ahead, Sir. It's quite cool," she said.

"I'm sure it is, Miss Weasley. I am just a little disappointed that it wasn't incinerated, that's all. I guess now I'll have to read it."

Sirius and Remus laughed openly at Dumbledore's remark, while McGonagall tried to look disappointed at her boss; however a twitch at the corner of her mouth gave her away.

"And what about you, Mister….Black?" began Snape. "We have seen the fire – Miss Weasley's talent is indeed impressive." Ginny grinned at the praise from the sullen man. "But what of the Shadow? Do you have similar tricks to show?"

Harry smiled at the grumpy teacher, who sneered at the boy he wanted so desperately to dislike, but simply found himself unable. In his head, Severus knew already that Adam Black was an impressive student, as well as being a perfect Slytherin. Loyalty to Lily's son constantly battled with the hatred he wanted to feel for James Potter's boy, so Snape just did what he always had – made the better of two worlds. He brought two conflicting concepts together and forced them to co-exist. The Potions Master was about to be amazed, however, as were his colleagues, McGonagall and Dumbledore, and Sirius and Arthur, who had not witnessed Harry's "tricks" before.

"In the same way Ginny instinctively creates fire, I can create shadow," Harry began.

"How in Merlin's name can you…" Sirius started, asking what almost everyone else was thinking.

"Like so, Padfoot." Harry raised his hands, before moving each one in an arc until they met again in front of his lap. As they moved, what appeared to be a black disc materialised inside the shape his hands had 'drawn'. The disc had a hint of translucence, but no more.

Sirius, being the most typical Gryffindor of the group reached out with his hand to touch the disc, but Harry grabbed his wrist at the final moment. "I wouldn't do that."

"What? Why?"

"Because I have no idea what would happen."

Professor Snape scoffed at Harry's remark, earning a sharp look from the Boy-who-lived. "Let me demonstrate something – Headmaster, may we have your letter again?" Harry gave Dumbledore a mischievous look, which the headmaster was very pleased to see. As the old man withdrew the parchment from his robes once more, Harry asked him to scrunch it up into a ball.

"Mr. Black," interjected McGonagall. "That is a letter from the Minister of Magic."

Harry shrugged nonchalantly at his Transfiguration teacher and looked expectantly at Dumbledore, who placated his deputy.

"Don't worry Minerva, generally only one in ten letters from Cornelius has anything of value in it. Now then, Adam, what shall I do with it now?" The ball of parchment floated in front of Dumbledore, although no-one had noticed him cast a spell.

Harry angled the black, shadowy disc so that it was facing towards the Headmaster. "Please send the parchment at the disc."

"As you wish…" With a flick of his hand, the wadded up ball of old paper careened towards the disc. With the exception of Harry, Ginny and Remus, the assembly party expected it to come though the black shape and appear on the other side, or bounce, or something. They did not expect it to disappear."

"Huh?" Sirius exclaimed eloquently.

"That is most intriguing," commented Dumbledore.

The experienced Gryffindor head was stunned, as was her Slytherin counterpart. However his analytical mind demanded an explanation.

"How do you achieve this? Where has the parchment gone?"

"As far as I can tell, Professor, the parchment has gone. Passed into shadow. Now do you see why I wouldn't let you put your hand in, Padfoot?"

"Uh-huh," Sirius nodded dumbly.

"What is the scale of this, Mr. Black?" asked McGonagall

"Not sure, perhaps we should experiment. Can you make a note, Moony?"

"Of course. Anyone got something I can write with?" replied the werewolf, which earned a muttered "Typical" from his former head of house.

"Here," said Harry, as he formed a ball of his swirling black magical energy in his hands, before morphing it into a muggle spiral bound notepad and biro. As he held them out to his guardian, all of the other adults look at him incredulously (except for Sirius, who was still busy wondering about what would have happened to his hand).

"What?"

"Adam," spoke the Headmaster. "What you just did was incredible."

"Well, Professor Snape did ask for tricks," replied Harry, deliberately glossing over the significance of what he had done. The intelligent boy knew it wasn't the usual way of conjuring in the current Wizarding society.

"But, how do you…"

"Trust me, Minerva," interrupted Remus. "I've tried to learn how to do it, but after so long, it's impossible to learn this new approach. I suggest you just accept it and leave them to it." The werewolf made his note on the pad, before tucking it into a pocket.

"Them?" spoke up Arthur. "Gin? You can do it too?"

"Sure Dad," Ginny responded, before quickly forming a ball of orange-red energy into a large battery, which she handed to her father. The Weasley patriarch looked at it in awe.

"Enough with the tricks, Mr. Black," said Snape suddenly.

"Hang on a moment, Professor. We haven't shown you the good part yet," Harry said with a smirk.

"There's more?" asked McGonagall, with more than a hint of surprise.

"Oh yes, Professor," said Ginny. "Alone, our talents are all well and good. But together…"

The assembled group looked at the two teens expectantly, curious what the end of Ginny's sentence would be. It was Harry who finished it.

"…We're awesome."

"Excuse me?" said Dumbledore politely.

"What Adam is trying to convey, Albus," explained Remus. "Is that together they are more powerful than the sum of the individual parts. Their magic somehow combines to create either a seemingly unstoppable force, or an unpenetrable defence."

"I'm not sure I follow," commented Sirius, leading to a knowing smirk from Snape.

"Are you suggesting, Lupin, that together they can block the unforgivables, and bypass the strongest shields?" the spy enquired.

"Exactly!"

"Once again, Mr. Black, Miss Weasley, you'll forgive me if I find this…revelation…hard to believe."

Harry acknowledged his Head of House's remark, before turning to Dumbledore. "Do you have a pensieve, Headmaster? Perhaps field trip would help."

"Of course, Mr. Black. An excellent idea. I am very keen to witness the evidence of this remarkable claim."

"A field trip, Mr. Black? Which field are you referring to?" asked McGonagall, unfamiliar with the muggle term.

"Professor, it is an expression, referring to taking the learning outside of the classroom to a more practical location. In this case, my memories."

"I see. And do you propose showing us?"

"The attack on the Burrow…"

Arthur Weasley gasped as Harry said this.

"…At least, the part when I arrived with Ginny."

A short time later, six dumbstruck adults sat silently, each contemplating various aspects of what they had seen. Remus, Dumbledore and McGonagall each considered the magical implications of what they had seen. Remus of course had known about the effect of the pair's combined magic, having helped them to experiment in the Room of Requirement. He had not, however, understood how it would behave under duress. Apparently the answer was devastatingly well.

The two experienced professors' minds were racing with academic considerations. How could this occur? What was the magic actually doing?

Sirius was grinning at the thought of his Godson and Ginny tearing into the Death Eaters with such ease. There was pride in his 'cub', but hope as well. Hope for the future, hope for vengeance for James and Lily. Hope for coming through the next few years alive.

Arthur was forced to think once more about the debt he owed his daughter and her beau. They had saved the family – seven more lives. He was truly proud of his daughter, and relieved that all his sons were still alive, but the event was still very recent, and re-opened the wound that was Molly's death, so soon after it had begun to heal.

Ginny's attention, and Harry's too, at her prompting, was on Severus Snape. In some ways, the normally emotionless man seemed the most disturbed by what he had seen in the pensieve. Although the embittered teacher tried gamely to keep his face impassive, the natural _legilimens_ that Harry was, and the phoenix abilities that Ginny held, meant they could easily pick up on one thing that was spilling out of Snape's troubled mind.

Draco Malfoy.

The youngest Malfoy, Harry and Ginny realised, was Snape's godson. The godson that Ginny referred to earlier when she identified the man's loyalties. A godson that he now believed to have brutally burnt to a crisp by the two children sat opposite him.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Ginny spoke quietly, interrupting the silence that had befallen the group.

"Yes, Miss Weasley?" the old man replied, his eyes flicking open.

"I think Professor Snape should visit _Mr. Smith_. I assume he is currently residing here in the castle."

The headmaster glanced at his younger associate. "Yes, I agree that is a most sensible course."

"Now, Sir," the flame-haired girl commanded.

Dumbledore stared at her for a moment, his twinkling blue eyes meeting Ginny's determined stare. The Supreme Mugwump held her gaze momentarily before looking down submissively.

"Of course. Dipsy?" A female house-elf popped to the ante-room, appearing next to Hogwarts' custodian.

"Yessir, Professor Headmaster, Sir?"

"Please take Professor Snape to visit Mr. Smith for a few minutes," the old man spoke quietly.

Dipsy turned smartly to Snape, who was sitting to the right of the Headmaster. She reached up and grasped his arm firmly, popping the pair of them away before the potions master barely had time to register what was going on.

"Albus, who on earth is Mr. Smith?" demanded McGonagall.

"Perhaps, Minerva, we should wait for Severus to return and explain." The old man steepled his fingers in his lap, and returned to his contemplations, clearly intent on saying no more.

"Well…" began the stern Scotswoman, before sighing in defeat. When Albus was in that pose, there was no getting through to him.

Sfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsf

Approximately ten minutes later, a much relieved Severus Snape returned via House-Elf to his place in the ante-room behind the Headmaster's study. Just as he was sitting down, the usually unflappable Deputy Headmistress couldn't restrain herself.

"Severus, will **you** please tell us what on earth is going on? Albus insists that it his not his place."

"Fine. Mr. Black, perhaps you will help to fill in some of the details?" He looked at Harry, who nodded.

"Draco Malfoy is my Godson," began the black haired man. Understanding dawned suddenly on Dumbledore, who interrupted his colleague.

"Severus, if I'd known…I'd certainly have told you sooner."

"Thank you, Headmaster."

"Known what?" asked Sirius, who was as clueless as McGonagall. Remus, however, was beginning to piece things together.

"Shall I continue?" Severus asked sarcastically to Sirius, who looked back expectantly.

"At some point before the New Year, Draco was taken before the Dark Lord and marked as a Death Eater. His first mission was as a member of the team that was sent to destroy the Burrow.

"I had, of course, heard about the New Year's Day attack, and knew Draco would be going. I prayed the boy would come out alive. Unfortunately for him, many of the pureblood community make the mistake of underestimating the Weasley family, and I feared for his safety on what the Dark Lord believed to be a simple seek and destroy mission.

"When the coverage of Mr. Black's rather dramatic gift to Fudge was broadcast, I was stunned, before I went into denial. A few days later, at a summoning, I learnt that none of the Burrow's raiders had returned. However, I still refused to believe it, and convinced myself that this was some big conspiracy. The Death Eaters had been captured, and the charred bodies faked.

"Seeing Mr. Black's memory of the attack finally made me realise the truth. He and Miss Weasley had, in barely a minute, obliterated the entire group, my Godson included."

"However," interjected Harry. "What Professor Snape did not notice, understandable given his anxiety for Draco's welfare, is that we only killed twelve. I took thirteen bodies to Diagon Alley."

"Please explain yourself, Mr. Black," requested McGonagall.

"After we took down the attackers, we heard the sound of someone else in the orchard. As Ginny went to find her family, I tracked down Malfoy, and confronted him. He tried to fight me but I subdued him. I wanted information on Voldemort but he swore he knew nothing. Disbelieving, I looked into his eyes."

"And what did you see there, Mr. Black?" Dumbledore asked softly.

It was Severus who answered. "That he was forced to take the mark by his father, and that he wanted no part of the Dark Lord's crusade. Draco had hidden in the trees and not taken part in the attack. While he may believe in some of the pureblood bigotry, he is no Death Eater. Honestly, I don't think he has the guts for it. There's a lot of talk in him, a lot of bravado, but not a lot of action I'm afraid."

"I could see Malfoy wanted no part of what was going on, so when Moony, Padfoot and the Headmaster arrived, I asked Dumbledore to protect him.

"Asked, Mr. Black?" said Dumbledore with an amused look on his face. "I don't recall having an option.

"Whatever, old man," responded Harry, causing McGonagall to look scandalized and Snape incredibly amused. "Even a commander needs telling what to do occasionally."

"Mr. Black, I believe there is no doubt about who is the leader of this group now."

"He was the boy?" piped up Sirius suddenly, trying to get things back on topic.

"Exactly Padfoot. When we arrived at the Burrow, the blonde boy with Harry was Draco Malfoy. Albus, what did you do with him?"

"Mr. Malfoy was sadly killed over the New Year. Mr. Tobias Prince, however, a distant relative of Professor Snape will be transferring to Hogwarts from the US, after his last remaining family there died tragically in an automobile accident."

"So, Malfoy has a chance at a new start," commented Ginny.

"I shall ensure he makes the most of it," responded Snape. "Mr. Black, I would like to return to my Godson. May we conclude our business here?"

"Of course, Professor. Now then, we have established now, I hope, that Ginny and I are the children of the Shadowfire prophecy. It seems then, that we have a rather large burden placed upon our young shoulders, broad as they may appear to be.

"If it is our destiny to purge the world of evil, then we need strategy, resources, information, guidance, and no doubt many other things as well. It is for this reason that we are here- to ask if you will provide us with many of these things, especially intelligence, wisdom and counsel."

Ginny took over from her partner in prophecy. "We have already notched up over twenty-five kills…"

"Oh my…" gasped McGonagall, and Snape and Dumbledore both looked surprised as well.

"And what we have realised, is that we need a strategy. If we are to fulfil this prophecy, we can't go around reacting to things that happen. If there's going to be a fight, it should be one that we've started, not one that's found us," Ginny continued.

"In short, we want the six of you to be our Council of War," Harry added.

After a pause, in which the three teachers looked thoughtful, and the three parental figures looked proud, it was Hogwarts' most unpopular teacher who surprisingly spoke up first.

"Mr. Black, Miss Weasley," he began. "You have impressed me with your maturity, your abilities and your approach. But more importantly, I owe you a debt of gratitude for what you have done for Draco, particularly you, Mr. Black. You have provoked many thoughts, this afternoon, and given me many things to think about. However, there is one thing that I have decided already. My feud with the name of Potter is finished. In many ways you are like James Potter, but you are not one of your parents." Snape paused for a second and took a deep breath before finishing his speech.

"I, Severus Tobias Snape, pledge my allegiance to the Children of the Shadowfire prophecy…"

As the teacher spoke these carefully chosen words, the assembled occupants of Dumbledore's anteroom were left in no doubt that Harry and Ginny were in fact, the Boy in Black and Girl in Red. As Snape's declaration was made, two threads of magic, one black and one red, snaked out from his chest towards the teenagers. The black thread reached Harry and the red reached Ginny as word 'prophecy' was spoken.

"…I am yours to command." The two threads dissolved into a golden mist, which floated to the table and floor, like a fading firework. The thread may have gone but the bond was still in place – each of them could feel it. Severus Snape had new masters.

Stunned was the main reaction, amongst the group at Snape's decisive action, for various reasons. However, Sirius, being the competitive Gryffindor and not a big fan of the potion's master, despite his earlier comments about ending the feud with the Potters, would not be outdone.

"Adam, Ginny," he spoke, to get their attention.

"No, Sirius, you don't have to…"

"I, Sirius Orion Black, declare my allegiance to the Children of the Shadowfire prophecy. I am yours to command." As the black and red threads dissipated, Sirius sat back in his seat, satisfied that he was doing the right thing, but also that he was not being outdone by Snape.

Before Harry and Ginny could recover from the surprise that Sirius and Snape had practically sworn themselves to their cause, both Remus and Arthur had followed suit. The two teens were still a little shell-shocked, so it fell on the four to look expectantly at Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall.

"Adam Black…" It was Dumbledore who went next. "…I made a very grave mistake in my life which cost you dearly. The time has come for me to atone. I, Albus Percival Brian Wulfric Dumbledore, give my allegiance to the Children of the Shadowfire Prophecy." The old man paused and looked Harry in the eye. Without looking away he spoke the final words of the pledge.

"I am yours to command."

Finally, the stern Scotswoman spoke up. "Miss Weasley, you are an exceptional student. Mr. Black, you are an enigma. Nonetheless, it appears that the future of our society rests with you. However I can assist you, I will. I, Minerva McGonagall, give my allegiance to the Children of the Shadowfire prophecy. I am yours to command." The last two threads fizzled away, leaving two teenagers in awe of what their teachers and guardians had just done.

Harry, however, was a remarkably quick-witted young man, who soon recovered his authoritative air.

"On behalf of us both, I thank you. This is far more than we had hoped for, and will no doubt make a huge difference in the resolution of this situation. The Shadowfire Council shall one day be renowned throughout the land, I feel sure of it.

"Now then, down to business. Professor Snape, you, of course, shall be our eyes and ears inside Voldemort's camp. However, please remember always that your life comes first."

"It shall be as you command."

"Headmaster, you shall be our link to the Wizengamot and the school. You seem to know more about what the students are doing than they do."

"Remus, I want you to be my counsellor. No offence, Padfoot, but the wolf is definitely a more calming, wise influence than you'll ever be."

"None taken, pup," Sirius replied. "Ol' Moony is the better man for that job."

"So, Remus?"

"It'd be my honour, Adam."

"Many thanks. Ginny?"

"Dad, will you be my counsellor? Be for me what Remus is for Harry? Someone I can always go to for wise words, or comfort or support."

"I'm your father, Ginny, and always will be. I would have been disappointed if you'd asked anyone else."

Harry spoke to the final member of the newly formed Council. "Professor McGonagall, you are Ginny's head of house and the best teacher in this school. However, as the only female on our panel of advisors, can we look to you to keep the testosterone in check? I've no doubt you managed admirably when these three…" he gestured to the Marauders and Snape. "…were in school. Will you be our moral and ethical conscious?"

"Yes, Mr. Black, I did indeed keep those three in line. And yes, I will gladly do all I can to keep all seven of you on the right path. I accept the role you have given me."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said sincerely.

Harry and Ginny sat back in their seats, looking relieved that this part of the meeting was over. Sirius, however, had other ideas.

"Hey! What about me? What's my role on the Council?"

"I would have thought that was obvious, Padfoot," replied Harry with a smirk.

"Not to me," Sirius responded tersely.

"Well, we had you down as dogsbody!"

It was nearly a full five minutes before Remus Lupin and Severus Snape regained their composure.

"Seriously though, we do have a very special task for you," began Ginny when control had been re-established and Sirius appeased. "As we mentioned earlier, we spoke with the Centaurs in the forest about the Prophecy. In amongst their rambling about stars and heavens and inter-planetary alignment, we learned one key fact."

"Yes?"

"We only know half of it."

"WHAT?"

"There's more?"

"Oh sh…"

"ALBUS!" Minerva McGonagall's voice cut across the men folk's exclamations. "Control your language!"

"I apologise. Can you explain, Miss Weasley?"

"According to the eldest Centaur in the herd, the first part of the Shadowfire Prophecy is legendary. Every Centaur is raised knowing it. However, there is a second part. They all know it exists, although no-one knows what it says."

"Your task, Padfoot," interrupted Harry. "Is to find the second half."

"What? How?"

"Down boy!" Harry said with a smirk. "The elder told us that when the Prophecy was originally made, it was recorded by Centaurean scholars. About five hundred years ago, a wizard befriended herd Elder, somewhere in Eastern Europe and learned of the prophecy. He wrote it in a book, but only one copy was ever made. The Centaurs believe that that book is still in Germany, at the ancestral home of the wizard's family."

"Do you at least have his name?"

"We do."

"And?"

Harry sighed. "Dolohov."

"Damn!" cried Sirius and Severus at the same time, causing them to look at each other in surprise.

"Is that bad?" Ginny asked tentatively.

"Indeed Miss Weasley," replied Snape. "Antonin Dolohov is one of the Dark Lord's lieutenants. The family is notoriously dark sided."

Snape spent a few minutes sharing what he knew of the Dolohov family, to which Sirius contributed a reasonable amount also. As the oldest male child of an ancient pureblood house, he had learned the history of prominent families as a child.

As the discussion drew to a finish, all looked expectantly at Harry to close the first meeting of the newly formed Shadowfire Council. The messy haired teen was about to speak when a sharp trill from Fawkes, startled them all.

"What is it?" Harry asked, apparently directing his question towards the magnificent bird.

"Incoming Portkey!" stated Ginny without thinking.

"Yes, Fawkes will often warn me when he detects an inbound Portkey. I am curious, Miss. Weasley how you were able to interpret…"

The Headmaster was cut off, and his question went unfinished as a young girl landed with a heavy thump in Harry's lap. His strong arms and quick reflexes caught her almost instantly. The girl, who was dishevelled and bloody, was barely conscious. Opening her eyes to look at the young man holding her, she spoke as well as she could manage.

"Adam?"

On hearing the quiet voice, Harry saw through the blood and dust caking the girl's face. "Naomi?"

The girl relaxed slightly, although she was clearly in pain. "Help me," Naomi Crabbe whispered, before lapsing into unconsciousness.

Sfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsf


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – In which Brothers and Sisters come together

Whilst cradling the limp body of the unconscious Naomi Crabbe in his arms, Harry looked at Ginny expectantly. His beloved mate knew exactly what he needed, and with a pair of phoenix-fire flashes, the two teens and the limp young girl were gone, leaving the Headmaster's anteroom in a variety of states from stunned all the way through shocked on to flabbergasted and back to stunned.

Unsurprisingly, the battle-hardened spy was first to regain his sense of action.

"I assume that was Naomi Crabbe. This means…" the Slytherin trailed off.

"What, Snape?" cried Sirius. "What does this mean?"

"It means that the Dark Lord has begun punishing his Death Eaters."

"Can you explain, Severus?" asked Dumbledore calmly. The potions master was about to respond when he suddenly gasped in pain and clutched at his left forearm.

"It seems now is not the time," replied Snape dryly, before he swept out of the room.

"Good luck, my boy," the old head teacher whispered to himself.

"Albus," called McGonagall. "Can you explain what is going on?"

"I can only guess Minerva," began the old man. "That this is the beginning of Voldemort's retribution against those under his command that failed to identify Harry Potter was under their very noses. I believe Severus is going to suffer greatly this night."

"And what of Naomi Crabbe? What has happened to her?" the usually stern professor asked, her hard demeanour begin crack.

"I cannot begin to imagine, but once we can speak to her, and with Severus, I expect we shall discover the truth. Sirius, Remus?" Albus turned to the Marauders.

"Where do you suppose Harry has taken Miss Crabbe?"

hphphphphphphphphphphphphp

A moment after leaving Hogwarts, Harry, Ginny and the unconscious Naomi arrived in Harry's bedroom, in the house in the woods he shared with Sirius and Remus. The young man carefully lay the first year on his bed.

"What are we doing here Harry? What's wrong with the Hospital wing and Pomfrey" Ginny asked, as he summoned a bowl from the kitchen and magically filled it with water.

Harry slowly began to clean the sleeping girl's face, removing the blood and dust that had mingled there, leaving her hard to recognise at first glance.

"Pomfrey's not in the castle. She has family that she goes to over New Year. Besides, there's nothing there I need that isn't here."

"How do you know she's…never mind," Ginny trailed off. She'd learned a time ago that Harry knew far more than he had a right to. The red-haired girl sighed. "What can I do?"

"Take over from me – clean her up as much as you can. I'm going to start healing what I can."

Maybe an hour later, after a combination of Harry's strange healing abilities and a few tears from Ginny's phoenix had been applied, the now clean, young Slytherin girl was sleeping peacefully on Harry Potter's bed. The girl was blissfully unaware of the three foot long black snake that was on a nearby shelf that was watching every breath.

The two teens crept from the boy's bedroom and headed for the cabin's kitchen, where they found Remus, Sirius and Arthur, and Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall.

"Where's Snape?" were Harry's first words as he stepped through the kitchen doorway. As usual, the Council deferred to Dumbledore to respond.

"He was summoned by Voldemort."

"Figures," Harry shrugged. "Ginny, do you want a drink?" he asked his girlfriend as he headed to the fridge.

"Mr. Potter, where is Miss Crabbe? How is she?" asked McGonagall with a hint of desperation.

Deciding against a flippant remark about a Gryffindor caring about a Slytherin, Harry replied matter-of-factly.

"She's sleeping. We've healed her injuries and she'll be fine."

"What injuries?" Arthur tentatively inquired.

"A couple of cracked ribs, plus cuts and scrapes from debris mostly. I'd guess she was tossed against a wall at some point, and then got caught by the shrapnel as things exploded around her."

"Has she said anything? About what happened?"

"No. She's not regained consciousness, but she's OK now. Just sleeping."

"I guess we can do no more than wait," said Dumbledore.

Sfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsf

It was a full twenty-four hours later before Severus Snape was recovered enough from his summons to relay what had recently transpired in the Dark Lord's camp. Despite incredible stubbornness, the potions teacher acquiesed to Harry's demands and allowed Mme Pomfrey to heal the effects of Voldemort's displeasure. Unbeknownst to the Slytherin, Harry distracted the school's healer long enough to allow Ginny to sneak some phoenix tears in to one of Severus' potions. As a result, he healed faster and quicker than either he or the matron expected.

Through a combination of Snape's information, and Naomi Crabbe's telling of her ordeal, the Shadowfire Council had pieced together the events of the evening…

On the fourth day of the New Year, four days after Death Eaters attacked the Burrow, and Harry Potter revealed to Wizarding Britain that he was alive, well and fighting fit, Lord Voldemort had calmed enough from his apoplectic rage that he summoned those of his Death Eaters he chose to punish first – parents of Harry Potter's classmates, namely Lucious Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle Senior and Lucas Parkinson. These four men endured an incredible beating at the hand of their master, in order that he convey his complete dissatisfaction that their offspring had failed to identify his nemesis as their housemate.

Unusually for the Dark Lord, he hadn't even waited until nightfall to summon these failures, his patience lasting only until the afternoon. The evening belonged to the torture of his supposed spy in the enemy's camp, Severus Snape. The fact that the head of Slytherin house had not identifed the son of his own schooltime enemy had angered the Dark Lord to never-before-seen proportions, and the spy had been tortured with the _Cruiatus_ curse innumerable times throughout the evening. Perhaps only his value as a spy and potions master had saved Snape's life on that night, although only Lord Voldemort himself would ever know the answer to that question.

During a brief respite in 'proceedings', Snape had managed to established the final punishment given to the four Death Eaters with children at the school. One of the four was selected as an example to the others of the consequences of displeasing their master. Vincent Crabbe Senior was ordered to murder his own family.

Hphphphphphphphphphphphphphphp

Naomi Crabbe, her brother Vincent and her mother Aurelia were sitting down to high tea in the dining room of the Crabbe house. The Crabbe estate was not on the same opulent scale as the Malfoy's, but nonetheless it was a large home, befitting a rich pureblood family. The pristine condition of the elegant dining room was thanks entirely to the family house elves that were enslaved many centuries ago. Thick, dark red velvet curtains framed sash windows. A highly polished oak table took pride of place in the centre of the room, with matching antique oak chairs around. Aurelia Crabbe sat at one end of the table, in one of the priceless carver chairs. Her child sat one each side, opposite each other. The family made strained conversation, as the dislike between siblings was not disguised. This, however was how many mealtimes transpired, and this lunch was comforting to the matriarch in its normality. That was of course, until Vincent Crabbe Senior crashed drunkenly through the hall doorway and blew the room apart.

After receiving his 'punishment' from the Dark Lord, Crabbe Senior went into a particularly unpleasant bar at the far end of Knockturn Alley in search of some Dutch courage. A half bottle of Ogden's Finest later, the Death Eater portkeyed back to the hallway of his home, using the highly illegal but untraceable portkey that had been handed down by generations of Crabbe firstborn males to their sons.

As luck would have it, for Crabbe Senior, the first room he stumbled into, through a pair of original polished pearwood doors, was the family dining room. The doors flew back on their hinges with a bang, startling the occupants within, who all turned sharply to look at their patriarch. The three stared at the one, waiting for him to say or do something. The one stared back. The three did not expect his next move.

Even in a half-cut state, an Inner Circle Death Eater is a force to be reckoned with, especially for a family caught unprepared. Vincent Crabbe Junior was killed first, receiving the full brunt of a _Reducto_, which caught his exposed left side and destroyed his ribcage and lungs. The boy died a quick, but painful death.

The few seconds it had taken to cast twice at his son had given Aurelia a chance to fight back. She took her own shots at her husband, but the situation affected her aim. Her own blasting curses hit the walls and floor, filling the air with plaster dust, bits of masonry and splintered picture frames. As Crabbe Senior's attention was on his wife, Naomi tried valiantly to hide under the dining table, but stray spells were occasionally hitting its legs. A loose _Cruciatus_ careened directly into one of the spare chairs, causing it to explode outward. The side of the seat flew directly into the terrified girl's side, causing her to cry out in anguish as her ribs cracked from the blow.

Moments later, two of the table legs gave way, causing it to topple onto its long edge. Quite miraculously, for the remaining Crabbe child, the table fell away from her, giving her some protection from her parents' fight. After managing to land a near-fatal blow on her husband, Aurelia ducked behind the upturned table, to find her daughter bleeding, covered in dust and barely conscious due to the pain of her injuries. In that moment, Aurelia Crabbe's maternal instincts won the battle over her pureblooded self-preservation ethic. Taking a golden medallion on a chain from around her neck, she woman pressed the token into her daughter's bloody hand.

"Think of somewhere safe, Naomi. Think hard."

The girl clasped the medallion, and whispered the last words her mother heard.

"Adam. Adam Black."

As the portkey transported the young girl through the magical vortex to the safe haven of Harry Potter's lap, the magnificent oak table was struck by one final blast of magic by Vincent Crabbe Senior. The resulting destruction of the antique furniture sent foot long shards of oak shooting like missiles around the once beautiful dining room. As the wards around the property fell with the death of the family's head, the abnormal levels of magical residue were spotted in the DMLE's monitoring facilites and an Auror team was dispatched to investigate.

Sfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsf

Within a few days, both Naomi Crabbe and Severus Snape were restored to full health, just in time for the start of the spring term. On the morning of the final day of the holiday, Harry was talking with Remus in the kitchen of the house they occupied, deep in the woods that separated the twin villages of Ottery St. Catchpole and Ottery St. Mary. Sirius was still asleep – he did not rise early like his Godson or best friend. The animalistic instincts of these two housemates however, did not lead them to lying idly in their beds. Naomi, who was now staying in the cabin, was also still asleep.

The young girl had attached herself to Harry and had begged to be allowed to stay wherever he resided. Remus didn't object of course, as owner of the house, and the first year took over Harry's room. Harry happily slept on the sofa in the small lounge, kept warm during the night by the panther and the wolf lying in close proximity.

It was Naomi's dependency on Harry that he and his second guardian were discussing that morning.

"Do you think Sirius would be interested? It's a big deal."

"I think he would. They do get on well – I think he's been trying to teach her some pranks to play on her fellow Slytherins. What about Naomi though? Do you think she'd go for it?"

"I really don't know. I want to take care of her, but I'm only a few years older. The human side of me knows it ought to look after her, sure, but the animal in me really wants to. Animals protect their families, right? Especially wolves. As far as I'm concerned, she's part of my pack, but things would be so much easier if we could make it legal."

The werewolf thought for a moment. "You're right of course. And I totally understand what you mean about the animal instinct. Thanks to my furry side, I feel the devotion to you, as my alpha…"

"What? I'm not…"

"Of course you are Adam, and don't pretend to be coy about it. But I can sense the pack-bond you have with Naomi too, and as such I feel the need to protect her as well. As much as it pains me to say it, I think Padfoot probably knows more about the legal side of this than we do."

"What do I know more about?" Sirius said as he mooched sleepily through the doorway. "And can I get that last statement in writing, Moony?"

"No, you can't, you lazy old dog," replied Harry. "And we were talking about adopting pureblood orphans."

"Why were you talking about adopting…oh!" Sirius twigged halfway through his own question who and why. "Aren't you a bit young, Harry? You're pretty mature and all, but…"

"Not me you dolt!"

"Well, Moony wouldn't be allowed thanks to his monthly issues."

"Not me either, Padfoot."

"Then who are you…oh!" The knut dropped. "You think I should…"

"Yes, I do," said Harry firmly. "Although I need to talk to Naomi first. Assuming she agreed though, would you do it?"

"You're serious?"

"No, you're Sirius. But yes, I am."

"Ha ha! I think I need a drink."

"Jeez, Padfoot," Remus cried. It's only nine in the morning. What kind of example is that?"

"Fine," grumbled the Black heir. "Make me some coffee then."

"I'll take that as a yes," Harry said mischievously. Before Sirius could respond he continued. "I'm going to talk with Naomi. Oh, and thanks Sirius, you'll be great."

Hphphphphphphphphphphphphphphp

It would be an accurate reflection of the truth to say that money, influence and celebrity hold more clout in the Ministry of Magic than proper procedure and due diligence. Thanks to the Ministry of Magic's shocking mishandling of Sirius' arrest and unjust incarceration, the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black was easily able to convince the Minister to endorse his application for the adoption of Naomi Crabbe. The process was undoubtedly helped by the lack of other options for the girl; no light-sided pure blood family was interested in the daughter of a Death Eater, while no dark-sided family would considered adopting a girl whose death had been ordered by the Dark Lord. With no alternatives, a small but politically correct donation and plenty of leverage over the Minister, Sirius Black had the matter sown up in a few hours.

And so it was that the first day of the spring term saw a few changes to the Hogwarts roll call. From Slytherin, Draco Malfoy and Vincent Crabbe were deceased, although Ravenclaw gained a new fifth year by the name of Tobias Prince, and little Naomi Black proudly sat at the Slytherin table next to her pseudo-big brother Adam Black.

Sfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsf

The wizarding world was a tense and troubled place – for the majority. No-one could tell whether the depraved maniac known as Lord Voldemort suffered from anxiety, but the general populace definitely endured uncertainty on a daily basis. Would their children be safe at school? Would loved ones come home safely from work? Would the government ever manage to suppress the darkness once again creeping back into society?

Despite the constant shadow hanging over its occupants, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry continued its march through time, slowly and surely filling the heads of children with knowledge and skills. On the first Hogsmeade weekend of the spring term, hordes of students streamed happily towards the sleepy village, content to be out of the confines of the great stone walls, if only for a few precious hours.

Harry Potter, observant as always, as he waited patiently with Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Luna and Grace, wondered about the lack of Slytherins heading out of the school. It was true to say that less of them visited Hogsmeade compared to the other houses, but the numbers seemed particularly low on this February morning. The six friends finally passed through Filch's over-zealous checkpoint in the hall and were stepping through the castle's great oak doors when Naomi charged out of a passageway that led from the dungeons and the Slytherin part of the school.

"ADAM!"

Hearing his adopted sister's shout, Harry stopped suddenly and spun around to face back through the doorway. The first year raced up to her saviour, puffing heavily after her run along the passageways.

"Hogsmeade….not going…"

"Hey! Hey! Calm yourself little sister. Take a breath."

Naomi gave herself a moment to regain her breathing, before explaining again. "Almost none of the Slytherins are going to Hogsmeade. Somethings going to happen – I heard Pansy Parkinson say something about being told to stay in the castle by her father."

"Dammit!" Harry muttered to himself. Ushering the group of seven back into the hallway and into an empty alcove, he quickly thought of a plan – or the first steps of one at least.

"OK. Girls - Split up and find Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin and Snape. Tell them that something is going to go down in the village. We'll get down there and start sending the kids back. I just hope they'll listen to me. Ron, you run down the path to the school gates. Get them to turn back. Don't go any further than the gates."

"How do I get them to…"

"Tell them the truth. Tell them Death Eaters are coming. Just do it."

"Gin?"

"Ready," replied the red-haired girl. In a flash, the phoenix appeared, ready to take the heroic pair into the village.

"Girls?"

"We're on it." The four turned and ran.

"Ron?" The tall boy nodded once and headed out of the main doors, screaming as he went at anyone and everyone.

"Let's just tell Filch, Gin, then we can go."

Hphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphp

It was several hours later when a wearied party trudged the cinder path that led from Hogsmeade, past the small station, through the wrought iron gates and up to the main doors of the castle.

Harry and Ginny, lead the way, followed by Professors Dumbledore, Lupin, Snape and McGonagall. Behind the teachers same the unmistakeable red-hair of six Weasley brothers. All twelve were dishevelled, dirty and covered with the unmistakeable grime of battle.

The four girls, Grace, Hermione, Luna and Naomi were waiting anxiously at the doors to the Castle. The last of the students had been shepherded back into the castle ages ago, leaving the four, plus other staff members waiting anxiously as they watched the path that led to the village. As the twelve fighters came into view, a hundred yards or so from the castle doors, young Naomi raced off down the path to meet them. As she approached the group, Harry stopped and opened his arms, picking her up as she flung her arms around his neck.

"We're all fine, little one, OK?" Harry said soothingly.

The group, now of thirteen, reached the castle where Hermione, to the surprise of some, quickly latched on to Ron.

"Are you OK, Ronald? Are you hurt? Why didn't you come back before? Didn't Harry tell you to stay at the gates?"

"Yes," said Harry dryly. "I did."

The conversation between the teens was shortlived, however, as the somewhat overpowering voice of Professor Sprout, who assumed command in the absence of Dumbledore and McGonagall cut across the entrance hall.

"So Headmaster? What happened in Hogsmeade?"

"Perhaps Pomona, we can adjourn to some part of the castle that has seats. I for one could use a rest."

"Of course," replied Sprout, before leading the way into the Great Hall. The group assembled themselves at the Gryffindor table, which was miraculously populated with refreshments.

"Ahh, House Elves," mumbled Dumbledore. "They never cease to amaze me."

"Headmaster?" Sprout prompted.

"First things first, Pomona. Did all the students return safely?"

"For the most part, Headmaster. Some were injured, although largely this was caused by rather unexpectedly having to run back to the castle. It seems Mr. Weasley, Miss Weasley and Mr. Black did an excellent job of persuading them to return to the castle."

"That is good news, Pomona. Good news indeed. Mr. Black, may I?" The headmaster looked to Harry for approval before telling the tale to the assembled staff members, who were eager to learn what had transpired in the village. Most appeared surprised at their leader's deference to a student, but then again, said student was actually Harry Potter.

"As the students were heading out of the castle, Mr. Potter received intelligence that lead him to conclude an attack on Hogsmeade was going to take place."

Harry looked at Naomi as Dumbledore spoke, giving her a look of clear appreciation. The young girl grinned in response.

"Severus, Minerva, Remus and myself were alerted to the danger by Mr. Black's friends, while Mr. Weasley, Mr. Black and Miss Weasley began sending the pupils back to the castle. To cut a long story short, approximately twenty Death Eaters were in the village, seemingly attempting to cause as much damage as they could."

"Ginny and I incapacitated several of the b…."

"Mr. Black!" cut in Professor McGonagall.

"Of the Death Eaters. I believe the Weasley brothers, also took out a few more? Bill?"

"Yes Adam. We were heading after Gin and you, and dealt with any we came across."

"I'm curious, Misters Weasley," began Professor McGonagall. "How did all six of you come to be here, together."

"Just lending our support to our little sister, Professor," Bill replied mysteriously, to which McGonagall fixed him with a look which clearly said 'You haven't heard the last of this'.

Between them all, the tale was told to the staff, and to aurors and other assorted Ministry personnel who arrived to take statements from the twelve. Eventually, the group headed to the infirmary to be given the once over by Madame Pomfrey, before Ginny took her brothers to the Room of Requirement for a family chat.

"OK. Which one of you is going to explain?"

"Explain what, little sis?" replied Charlie.

"What in Merlin's name you were all doing there!"

_Flashback – last night of the Christmas holiday_

_Arthur Weasley was working late at the Ministry – not an uncommon occurrence now that Voldemort had been resurrected. Instances of misuse of muggle artifacts had tripled as the less refined members of Pureblood society took it upon themselves to taunt the muggles._

_Ginny was at Harry's house – activities unknown. However, despite their beyond-their years maturity, none of the Ginny's older brothers had any desire to know what she got up to with Harry behind closed doors. _

_Which left the Burrow empty, on this cold January evening, because Arthur's six sons were out in the meadow behind their old home. They had started a fire (magically) of course, on the site where their mother was cremated and now sat around it, talking in serious tones._

_"You know it's going to happen again."_

_"Of course it is. It's lucky we were at home this time."_

_"Is Ginny going to be safe?"_

_"She's got Adam. Who in their right mind is going to go up against him?"_

_"We're talking about Death Eaters though, not fifth year Slytherins. Some of them aren't in their right mind."_

_"Where was he anyway? I thought they were inseparable."_

_"Adam went to see Hermione and Grace Granger. Along with Luna and me, that's our study group. Ginny went to tell Luna, and Adam went to tell them."_

_"And they got attacked too, right?"_

_"Yeah. Three – I guess they didn't expect so much fight from a couple of muggleborns."_

_"But 'cause Adam was fighting there, he couldn't get back to help Gin. One of the scum nearly got Hermione."_

_"Easy Ronniekins. You haven't even asked her out yet."_

_"I'm working on it, OK?"_

_"Sure Ron. If you say so."_

_"That's enough, children. The point is, Adam and Ginny are lethal when they fight together and pretty good when they're not. But as we learnt a few days ago, sometimes pretty good might not be enough."_

_"Well, there's three of us at Hogwarts – we can keep an eye on them."_

_"It's not going to be enough though, is it, if something really kicks off. Just like them, our strength is when we stand together."_

_"A protean charm!"_

_"What's that Perce?"_

_"We could use a protean charm. If we each have something that's charmed, so anyone else can send a signal…"_

_"We'll know as soon as there's a problem and be able to help. Together."_

_"Can we add some kind of portkey effect?" suggested Fred. _

_"Yeah, so if someone makes the call, everyone else can portkey to their location," added George._

_"That'd be a pretty tough combination," commented Bill._

_"Come on guys," pleaded the youngest brother, Ron. "Three of you were head boys of Hogwarts. Percy got more OWLs then just about anyone who went there. Plus we all know the twins can make anything they really try to."_

_"It would be illegal," Percy began. _

_"Look," interrupted Ron. "This is our sister's life we're talking about. I know between you you can do the spells. What other choice do we have?"_

_It was Charlie who repsonded to his little brother's passionate plea. "You really have that much faith in us, little brother?"_

_"In everyone of you. And Ginny too. I think you're all brilliant." And then he added quietly. "I wish I could be more like you all."_

_"Don't sell yourself short, Ron," said Bill sincerely._

_"Yeah, kid. We think you're special too, you know," added George._

_"Sure," continued Fred. "Following on from this lot is damned hard. I reckon to follow after five over-achieving brothers and still be such a great guy, you're probably the toughest of the lot of us."_

_"Wow. Thanks."_

_"So," said Bill. "Perce, can you keep things smooth at the ministry? We're going to be doing some surruptitous portkey making."_

_"I'll sort it," replied the straitlaced young man._

_"Great. Let's go and sit at the table and figure this spell out."_

_The following night, Percy returned to the ancestral home of the Weasley family. Five anxious faces looked expectantly at their brother._

_"It's done."_

_"YES!" "Great job!" "Thanks Perce!" The other boys voiced their appreciation. Ron, who had been keeping the charmed medallions since Bill had done the spellwork earlier that evening, handed one to each of his brothers and placed one around his own neck. Each consisted of a fine gold chain, charmed to be unbreakable. Suspended from the chain was a small golden token, depicting on one side a phoenix rising from fire. The reverse was inscribed with a single word – Family._

_The brothers all looked towards Bill, their unofficial leader, for some final words of wisdom._

_"So, from this day on, we shall protect our sister, wherever she may be, and aid her in her quest. We shall fight at her back and keep her from harm. We are the Weasley boys, comrades in arms, united by blood and fire, the Brotherhood of Flame."_

Sfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsf

One Saturday morning, some time later in the term, Cho Chang and her friend Marietta were heading out of the Ravenclaw common room for breakfast. Marietta was the daughter of a Ministry employee and a merchant. Her mother worked in the department that regulated the Floo network, while her father was involved in shipping products in and out of England to Eastern Europe.

Cho Chang, on the other hand, was the only child of an affluent Chinese family, who's wealth had been made over the last century through shrewd investment in emerging muggle businesses. There was no doubt that she had always received everything she ever wanted from her parents, and her good looks and academic prowess had led her to a prominent position in the student body. She was Ravenclaw's star seeker, a prefect and a shoe-in for the Head Girl position next year. It was true to say that Cho Chang got what she wanted.

As the pair left the blues and bronzes of the Ravenclaw sanctuary, they found Luna Lovegood standing idly in the corridor.

"What are you doing, Lovegood?" said Cho, with unnecessary aggression.

"I'm waiting for my friend, Adam."

"Adam Black? Yeah right!"

"I've been friends with him for years, actually."

"You really are loony, aren't you Lovegood. He's only been here since September. Call yourself a Ravenclaw? Can't even count…"

"No! We met…"

"I don't care, Lovegood. He's going to be my friend now anyway. I was going to find him in the Great Hall, but if he's coming here that makes it easier for me."

Cho Chang turned dissmissively away from Luna, who was starting to feel a tear at the corner of her eye. The asian girl pulled the band from her hair, allowing it to fall freely about her shoulders and undid a button on the too small blouse that was stretched across her chest.

As Cho Chang whispered conspiratorally with Marietta, she did not notice Harry silently arrive at Luna's side. The blonde girl was startled too, as she was busy watching the older pair with loathing in her eyes.

"Eeep!" gasped Luna. "Adam, you made me jump."

Harry was about to respond but was cut off by Cho Chang's sickly greeting.

"Hello Adam!"

"Who are you?"

The chinese girl was momentarily stunned by Harry's question. Everyone knew who she was, didn't they? Recovering, Cho tossed her hair and moved closer to Harry.

"I'm Cho Chang, Adam." She practically purred his name. "I was hoping we could be friends. Why don't you ditch this delusional loser and have breakfast with me?"

"Are you serious?" Adam replied. The incredulity he felt was masked by his control over emotional responses.

"Why certainly I am. You don't need her, or your other silly little friends. Someone like you should hang out with the grown-ups." The girl was doing her best demure voice, fluttering her eyelashes and really making herself look cheap. Harry wasn't sure whether to laugh at her ridiculous attempt at flirting, or be angry for her disparaging remarks about his friends. As usual, he went with his standard approach of scathingly brutal.

"Not that it's any of your business, Chang, but I **have** known Luna for around five years. I've known the Weasleys for a couple of years and Grace Granger for over ten. I thought Ravenclaws were supposed to be smart, but you seem to think tossing your hair about, sticking out your chest and putting on a sultry voice that makes you sound like a hooker, is going to get me to give up on people I've been best friends with for years. Quite frankly, that's the most idiotic thing I've ever heard."

His vitriolic retort over with, Harry turned to Luna. "Come on, Luna, I think I smelled kippers on my way down here."

"Yay!" replied the younger girl, taking the arm that Harry offered her. As they began to turn down the corridor, Chang leapt at Harry, grabbing his other arm.

"Please, Adam! Please be friends with me! I'm sorry about before, I just want to be your friend. Please give me a chance."

"You were rude to about my friends. You spoke to the Daily Prophet about Ginny and I. You were very unkind to Luna…"

"I'm sorry. I really am. Please let me make it up to you." With each plea, the girl was tugging on Harry's arm.

"Leave me alone!" Harry yanked his arm free of the girl, who fell to her knees.

"Please!" she said softly, before beginning to cry silently.

"Dammit!" Harry whispered to himself. He took a deep cleansing breath and looked up at the ceiling. Finding no inspiration there, he glanced at Luna, who looked as surprised as he was at the older girl's extreme change in demeanour. He looked down at the sobbing girl.

"Look at me," Harry commanded.

Slowly, Cho lifted her head so she was looking up into Harry's eyes. As she felt his gaze scrutinize her thoughts, he found his answer. After barely a minute, Harry looked away from the Ravenclaw princess, with a disgruntled look on his face.

"You heard Trelawney's prophecy and you think I might consider you an enemy because you spoke to the _Prophet_? Merlin, Chang you really are self-involved. Voldemort is my enemy. Death Eaters are my enemy. You're just a silly, spoiled girl who thinks she can have whatever she wants. I urge you to stay away from me." Harry once again turned to his blonde-haired friend.

"Come on, Luna. Let's go and eat."

The pair sauntered off towards the corridor, leaving one sobbing girl and her stunned companion.

"Adam?" asked Luna, as they rounded a corner.

"Mmm?"

"What's a hooker?"

sfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsf

As the Spring term went on, one evening found Grace, Hermione, Luna and Naomi working studiously in the library. Harry and Ginny were often a part of this study group, but every so often they disappeared off to do their own thing. One by one, each of the four finished their nights homework, Naomi with help from the older girls, particularly Hermione. As with most sessions that did not include the famous couple, the girls ended up talking about Harry.

"He's saved me twice," said Naomi. Do you remember when Draco Malfoy fired a spell in the entrance hall? Adam saved me from that."

"Yes, and your brother punched Malfoy on the nose!" laughed Grace.

"About the only nice thing he ever did for me, though. What about you Grace?"

"Well you know about New Year – when he saved me and Hermione, but you particularly, right Cuz?"

"Please don't remind me. I still have nightmares about that b…"

"When we were at the orphanage together, some boys followed me down one of the corridors and trapped me against a wall. Adam appeared out of nowhere. They were all older an bigger than both of us, but when one of them tried to push Adam, Adam was too strong and too quick and sent the boy crashing into a wall. That's what I remember anyway. I wonder how many more times he'll save us."

"What about you Luna," Naomi asked. "Has Adam ever saved you?"

Luna thought carefully for a moment before answering. "Oh yes, although I'm not sure he'd realise it."

"What do you mean?"

"He made friends with me. Saved me from a life of loneliness and ridicule. Only this month he tore a strip off Cho Chang when she told Adam to ditch me and be her friend instead."

"She didn't!"

"That bitch!"

"Well, he left her sobbing in the corridor, after standing up for me. Called her a hooker for the way she threw herself at him."

"Oh my!"

"Awesome!"

"What's a hooker?"

"Never you mind, Naomi Black!"

The group were silent for a few minutes, each thinking about their saviour. It was Grace who finally ended the quiet.

"Do you think we should…you know…do something in return?"

"Like what?"

"Well, like the Weasley's. What did Ron tell you, H?"

"Apparently, all of Ginny's brothers have made some kind of pact, that they'll watch her back, stand by her side in her battles, that kind of thing."

"You think we should do that for Harry?"

"No, something else. What are we good at?"

"Well, I'm pretty friendly with just about everyone," offered Grace. "Means I know a lot about what's going on round here."

"No-one pays me much attention, really," said Luna. "It's amazing what you observe when people don't pay much notice."

"I guess my strength is in researching information," added Hermione. "What about you, Naomi?"

"Dirt."

"Huh?"

"I have gossip on everyone. Anyone with a skeleton in their closet – I already know about it."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"Such as?"

"Such as I know who, was doing what with Justin Finch-Fletchley in the Charms classroom after the Yule Ball."

"Oh," replied Grace. Then she went wide-eyed. "OH!"

"Intelligence!" Hermione exclaimed, suddenly.

"Eh?"

"What we can offer Harry, is intelligence. Whether it's academic intelligence, or research he needs doing, or if he wants to know about someone or what's going on…We can be his eyes and ears for everything that gose on around the school, and if there is ever anything about magic he doesn't know…"

"Yeah, 'cause that boy reads even more than you Hermione!"

"…we can be his research team." Hermione ignored her cousin's friendly dig.

"It's a good idea, Hermione."

"It's exciting!"

"What do we tell him?"

"Do we have to think up a cool name, like the Weasley boys?"

"What's their cool name?"

"The Brotherhood of Flame. Apparently they've all got some innate fire magic."

"Wow! What does innate mean?"

"It means they were born with it, Naomi. So what do you think? What should our name be?"

"Well, if they're all brothers, why don't we be the Sisters of something?"

"But they really are brothers."

"That doesn't matter. Anyway, Naomi is Adam's sister, and you two are practically sisters."

"Adam does treat you like a sister, too, Luna. I know he thinks of you as one."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he talks about you at home. All of you actually."

"So, Sisters it is. Sisters of what though?"

"Support?"

"Too dull. Spells?"

"Err…no!"

"Scissors?"

"Sisters of Scissors? Please explain that Luna."

"No, silly, it'd be the Scissor Sisters."

"Well that's much better!"

"Shadow."

"Yes!"

"I like it!"

"Sisters of Shadow."

"It's so bloody obvious. That's his nickname for Merlin's sake."

"And it sounds cool. And mysterious."

"Let's go tell him!"

"Shouldn't we make a vow, or a pact or something?"

…

…

"Why are you all staring at me?"

…

"Fine!" Hermione held her hand out across the table, so that it was in the middle of the group of girls and encouraged the others to do the same. When all four were touching, Hermione spoke their vow.

"We four witches, do hereby pledge our eternal support to Adam Black, our friend, our saviour, our brother, and to each other, our Sisters of Shadow. By my magic, so shall it forever be."

"By my magic, so shall it forever be."

"By my magic, so shall it forever be."

"By my magic, so shall it forever be."

As Naomi completed her pledge, there was no flash of light or golden glow. Instead, a tendril of dark black shadow snaked out from beneath their hands, before wrapping itself around them for a second and fading into nothing.

Sfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsf

A/N Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews. I'm sorry it takes me so long to update, I'm a very busy boy at the moment.

LA SNB x


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – In which Sirius returns

"Tobias Prince!" The sharp voice of Professor Snape rang crisply down the corridor. The fifth year Ravenclaw spun quickly to see the tall potions master looming towards him from the gloomy corridor that led from the castle's dungeons. The boy looked defiantly at his teacher, who surveyed the scene in the corridor. One first Ravenclaw was huddling in an alcove, peeping out at the professor. On the ground around the tiny girl were three fourth year Slytherins, each unconscious with bloodied noses.

"My office. Now!"

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"So," said Hermione to her fellow 'Sisters of Shadow'. What intel do we have this week?"

"Well," piped up the smallest member of the group, Naomi. "I've heard about two Gryffindors that started dating. Apparently they've been dancing about each other for years, but they've finally…"

"Yes. Well…I don't think that's going to help Adam is it, knowing who got caught got with whom in a broom cupboard."

"Hmmm, that's interesting Hermione. I didn't know they caught in a broom cupboard."

"What? No! We weren't…"

Grace laughed at her cousin's embarrassment, while Naomi looked triumphant. Luna meanwhile, looked thoughtful as always. After a good minute, Hermione recovered her composure and fixed Naomi with a half-hearted glare.

"Any important information anyone?"

"Cho Chang," offered Luna.

"What about her?"

"She seemed different this morning; brighter, energised. I wondered at first if there were kippers for breakfast, and she was excited about that prospect, with being a Ravenclaw and all, but it turns out there weren't. My next theory was that she'd been visited overnight by a moon-fairy, but of course then I remembered that she's a Capricorn, so that couldn't be it. In the end I came to the conclusion that I really have no idea why she would be like that."

"Let's look at this logically," Hermione began, but was quickly interrupted by Grace.

"What's the kippers thing all about?"

"It's a Ravenclaw thing, really, kippers," Luna replied vaguely.

"And what does a moon-fairy look like?"

"I have no idea."

"So, Cho Chang was behaving oddly this morning. Anything else?"

"Hannah Abbott was too. Just like Luna described, she seemed perky and happy."

"Was it the blueberry muffins?"

"Huh?"

"There were blueberry muffins for breakfast. They could be to Hufflepuff what kippers are to Ravenclaw."

"I don't think so."

"So, we've seen Cho and Hannah behaving strangely. Now I come to think of it, Neville was…"

"Bright?"

"Energised?"

"Working shirtless in greenhouse four?"

"LUNA!"

"Well, he's dreamy."

"He's no Harry though."

"Well who is?"

"Eww…excuse me, that's my brother you're discussing."

"Focus people, please!" commanded Hermione. "That's one from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor behaving unusually chipper this morning. Any one from your house, Naomi?"

"Not that I heard of, but there is of course the small matter of what Tobias Prince just did."

"What?"

"Well, I was on my way here, when I followed some fourth year thugs out of the common room…"

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"So, let me get this clear. You defended a muggleborn first year from Ravenclaw from being bullied by three Slytherins?"

"You're damn right I did!"

"Don't take that tone with me. You may be my godson but you will still remember your place."

The student formerly known as Draco Malfoy had the decency to look at least slightly abashed for his tone, but certainly did not regret his actions. He wasn't sure what it was, really, but something just felt different. Draco Malfoy would have been standing behind the Slytherins, encouraging them callously from the shadows, but Tobias Prince? Not a chance. Since his 'rebranding' Prince had kept himself to himself. He worked quietly and diligently without drawing attention, just as any good Ravenclaw would. He conversed occasionally with Adam Black when they passed in the halls and occasionally that Lovegood girl looked at him strangely, but otherwise he was socially inactive.

For some reason however, this morning Tobias Prince felt invigorated and full of purpose. He was taking a shortcut to the Great Hall for breakfast - there were kippers, which he was looking forward to – which took him close to the Slytherin parts of the castle. Coming across a scared first year from his own house being bullied by three thugs from the Snake house made his blood boil. Had these idiots no honour? What cunning did they display in harassing a weaker kid? Three quick fire bludgeoning hexes dealt with them swiftly.

"Yes sir," Tobias replied to his former head of house.

"You're different, Tobias," remarked the Potion's master.

"Yes, I am. I like it as well. I feel refreshed, and as if I've finally understood what the Founders stood for. Those idiots were picking on a first year! That's not the Slytherin way; where was the honour, the cunning, the ambition? It was disgusting. Being a Slytherin is not about bullying the weak and small, it should be about tradition, nobility, honour and sharpness of wit."

"Yes, well, when you've quite finished, Tobias, back in the real world your actions must be punished."

Tobias Prince looked defiantly at his Godfather.

"Yes, I think three points from Ravenclaw will suffice."

Sfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfs

The spring term at Hogwarts drew to a close. Ron, Fred and George continued to keep an eye on their sister, ready to call in the Brotherhood should the need arise. The Sisters of Shadow watched and listened to all that they could around the castle, evaluating each piece of information for something of value that could be passed on to their saviour.

Voldemort, it seemed, was biding his time. Defeat in Hogsmeade had been damaging and he needed time to regroup. It was a few days into the Easter holidays when the Dark Lord reared his ugly head and flexed his muscles again.

On a particularly mild day just prior to Easter itself, Harry and Naomi had walked, via Luna's house to the Burrow, collecting the dreamy girl, where the three of them met Ron, Ginny, Grace and Hermione for a picnic in the strange house's orchard. Blossom was starting to appear on the apple, pear, cherry and plum trees, giving the impression of pink and white confetti dancing in the canopy of green leaves. After a not-so sumptuous feast of crudely prepared sandwiches and yesterday's pumpkin pasties, Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermione – the two couples of the group – sat slightly away from the others, enjoying the company of their loved ones.

Harry's wolf and panther and Ginny's fox lay lazily alongside Luna, Grace and Naomi, enjoying the attention they were getting from the three girls. It was not often that the animals were 'out' together like this, and the 'sisters' took advantage to pet the cute little fluffy-wuffies, as Luna had dubbed them. Harry's snake was sunning himself on a rock a little way from the orchard, absorbing the heat of the April sun. The falcon flew in the skies ahead while the spider stayed firmly as a tattoo, given Ron's presence and total arachnophobia.

As the seven youngsters lazily whiled away their afternoon, the falcon's sharp eyes picked up an approaching bird on the northern horizon. Harry's senses picked up the falcon's reaction and tuned in to its view.

"There's an owl coming," he called to the group. "It's carrying something."

For some reason, no-one expected the bird to head to Naomi, but it did anyway and the youngest member of the group divested the small brown owl of its burden – a letter. The girl quickly scanned down the parchment, before showing it to first Grace and then Luna. After a brief whispered discussion, Hermione was beckoned over to the other three 'Sisters'. They whispered frantically to each other for a few minutes, during which Ron looked a little put out that he had lost his snuggling partner, but the rapidly maturing teen could tell something was going on. Harry tried to listen in to the conversation but was deliberately distracted by Ginny who thought he was being rude. When the discussion ended, however, everything became clear.

"Adam?" called Hermione, as she was the unofficial spokesperson for the Sisters of Shadow.

"What is it, Hermione?"

"We think Voldemort's going to attack Gringotts!"

"WHAT!" blurted out Ron before anyone else could speak.

"Explain!" Harry commanded.

Hermione was about to when Naomi couldn't hold herself back.

"I got this letter from my friend Natalie, who heard her sister talking over the Floo to some other third year, whose cousin is best friends with Astoria Greengrass. She sneaked into her sister Daphne's bedroom and read a letter she'd got from Pansy Parkinson. She eavesdropped on her Dad telling her Mum to clear out their vault at Gringotts. She said…"

"Naomi!"

"Yes Adam?"

"Thank you. Hermione?"

"Taking into account the time each of these conversations is supposed to have taken place, we think it'll be the day after tomorrow."

"We need to tell Dad…" Ron began, but Harry cut him off.

"No."

"What? We can't let Dad lose the few Galleons he's got…"

"Don't worry Ron; we're not going to let that happen. If everyone starts emptying their vaults, the Goblins will shut the bank and Voldemort won't attack."

"And that's a bad thing?" Grace asked.

"Yes. Gringotts is bloody secure. He'll need a significant amount of manpower if he thinks he can take it."

"Lots of lovely Death Eaters to toast…" laughed Ginny, causing Hermione to turn pale.

"Gin, we need the Council." Harry cupped his hands and concentrated on them for a moment, causing a folded piece of parchment to materialise.

"Adam, how do you do that?"

"Not now Hermione. Gin?"

Ginny understood the meaning in Harry's tone. "Dad?"

"Yes. I've asked him to get the others. Let's clear this picnic up and head to Hogwarts."

"What's going on Adam?" asked Naomi, who was a little young to keep up with her adopted brother's thoughts and decisive actions.

"You, little one, are going with Luna back to her house. Hermione and Grace are going safely home to theirs. Ginny and I are going to Hogwarts to talk to some of the Professors, Ginny's dad, and Moony. Ron, I expect, is about to contact his brothers."

The tall boy nodded once and drifted away from the others as the picnic was cleared up with a few well placed flicks of Ginny's wand.

"Calling all brothers. Calling all brothers. We have code red. I repeat, code red."

Hugs were shared all round, except between the two boys of course who settled for a quick slap on the shoulder. "Send Bill to Hogwarts as soon as possible Ron. Might as well co-ordinate our efforts."

"No problem, Adam." With a kiss to Hermione, Ron Weasley strode back to the Burrow and waited for his brothers to arrive. Luna and Grace said their goodbyes and set off down the path through the woods towards Ottery St. Mary, where Luna lived with her father. The two Granger cousins headed out to the lane and hailed the Knight bus back to Surrey. Having watched each of their friends and siblings depart, a flash of phoenix fire saw Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley head to Hogwarts Castle and to their first Council of War.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

"Thanks to all of you for coming so promptly, but a significant opportunity has presented itself." Harry paused for a moment to take in each of the Council members – the prophesized pair's most trusted advisors. "We have received intelligence that Voldemort is going to attack Gringotts…"

"Surely not!"

"Oh Merlin!"

"…The day after tomorrow."

"How have you come by this information, Mr. Black?" asked Professor Snape. "I was not aware of any such attack."

"To be honest, it's the conclusion drawn by my personal intelligence group, based on information received."

"Personal intelligence group?" asked Remus with a smirk.

"Don't knock it, Moony. If they're right, this gives us an opportunity to take another massive shot at the Dark Lord. I trust them. Now then, Professors, Mr. Weasley, Remus, we know we want to take out as many of them as we can, but we need a plan of action…"

A short while later, Bill Weasley joined the group and added his two galleons into the strategy session. In the end, it took several hours before the Shadowfire Council, reached a consensus. It was an audacious plan, arrogant, in some regards, but Harry and Ginny were adamant that a message would be sent. To Voldemort, that he was not going to be able to take whatever he wanted, and to the general populace they wanted to show that Death Eaters were not to be feared. No, Death Eaters were to be annihilated.

On the eve prior to Easter Sunday and the attack on Gringotts, Harry and Ginny were once again back at Hogwarts, but this time their business was with only one individual – Harry's head of house, Professor Severus Snape.

"Professor, it is time."

"Are you sure about this, Mr. Black?"

"Completely, sir. To make this plan work, we need to show our strength, and the Shadowfire camp is stronger with you in it than not. Besides, it would seem you are no longer in possession of the Dark Lord's full confidence." As it turned out, Voldemort had been planning this attack for several weeks, with only the Dark Lord's most trusted let in on the secret. Apart from his potion making skills, it seemed that Severus Snape was considered rank and file by Voldemort and as such only received his instructions regarding the attack the day before. Instructions, which of course, Snape readily passed on to Harry and Ginny, although it had little impact on their plans.

"Perhaps you are right. It would appear that that blabbering buffoon Parkinson is trusted where I am not. There is still the problem of the Dark Mark."

"Indeed, but my intelligence team have been researching…"

"Researching? Miss Granger, I presume?"

"Indeed, she is amongst them. Anyway, they have identified a number of options."

"I don't suppose any of these are short, pain-free and without complication?"

"Very astute, Professor. First, we remove your arm."

"No. Next?"

"I apply a shadow to the specific area of the mark and see what happens. The depth of the shadow would be increased as required, but there is no telling how deep the Mark permeates."

"Too many uncertainties. Next?"

"Ginny gives it a burst of phoenix fire and we see what happens. We have tears ready to apply to the burn."

"Any others?"

"No. As you can imagine, we feel the last option is likely to be the best. Our theory is that the purity of the phoenix fire will destroy the evil of the Mark, but it's only a theory."

"I would agree that this method seems the most prudent, however it too is fraught with uncertainty. However, should things go awry, the first could be used in addition."

"Did you just make a joke, Professor?" Harry asked, somewhat mischievously. The surly potions master's mouth twitched a fraction, before he quickly replied.

"I never joke, Mr. Black."

"That's what I thought," Harry muttered. "Ginny should be along in a moment. Do you want anyone else present?"

"No. This is a private matter, and if it doesn't work I would like to keep quiet."

"As you wish."

As Harry predicted, Ginny arrived a few minutes later. The pair had agreed that discussions with the Slytherin would be best with just Harry when possible. The troubled man was unlikely to be fully open in front of a Gryffindor, particularly one related to Fred and George Weasley. With a quick look at Harry, she knew the Professor had agreed to try removing the Dark Mark using her phoenix fire. Using his usual but unique technique (except for Ginny, who was the only other Harry had taught to shape magic the way he did), Harry created a stone pillow for Snape to rest his arm on. The usually emotionless man looked uncharacteristically nervous as he shed his robe and removed his shirt. The pale man laid his arm on the stone, looked once at Harry and then shifted his gaze to Ginny, the fifteen year old Gryffindor who potentially held the key to erasing the biggest mistake of his life. The man reapplied his stony-faced mask, before speaking three short sharp words to the girl.

"Do it now!"

As the furnace-hot fire touched the eerie blackness of the Dark Lord's gruesome brand, Severus Snape's felt pain unlike anything he had imagined and his scream of agony was heard throughout the castle.

Sfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsf

Easter was a traditional event in the Wizarding calendar, much like Christmas and Halloween to a certain extent. Despite the day's religious origins, Wizarding Society had latched onto the festival and used it as an excuse to eat excessive amounts of chocolate and give gifts to each other. Few knew of the symbology behind the Easter egg, and if they did, they were almost certainly well acquainted with the muggle world. No, Easter Sunday in British Wizarding life was a day of fun, giving, excesses and joy. A perfect day for a psychopathic maniac to want to ruin.

Unsure of the exact time of attack, but expecting something early morning, the defence of Gringotts Wizarding Bank began at 6am. On the glistening white marble steps of the esteemed building, sat a witch and a wizard in conjured folding chairs. In front of them a small table was laden with hot croissants and steaming mugs of coffee. The pair, one dressed head to toe in black and the other entirely clad in red, chatted amiably as they enjoyed the peace of the spring morning. A peace which lasted until 6.27am.

From the dark and murky recesses of Knockturn Alley, a first black cloaked, white masked individual stalked out into the brightness of Diagon Alley. Another followed, then another, and another, until a compliment of around half a score of Death Eaters were moving up the thoroughfare towards their destination. As the group moved, random shops had their doors or windows smashed by i_Reducto/i _curses, or set alight by fire spells. As they neared the steps, the leaders slowed to a halt, bemused by the sight of two teenagers enjoying breakfast in front of them.

"Do you want to die?" asked the lead Death Eater, a sarcastic tone to his voice.

"Not today, Death Eater," Harry confidently replied. "Do you?"

"Ha! Stand aside you ignorant children, or be destroyed by the might of the Dark Lord."

Harry and Ginny were standing by now, the breakfast quickly forgotten. The prophesized pair had taken a few steps forward, so they were scarcely twenty feet in front of the sea of black and white.

"Fools. You stand here, slaves of Voldemort and about to perish for him. Do none of you know who stands before you? I am Harry Potter. We are Shadowfire. You stand before us like felons in the dock. Well, you sycophantic fools, we judge you for your crimes. You are all found guilty. And you will burn in hell for what you have done."

The Death Eaters looked stunned by the vehemence in this boy's words. But more importantly, was this really Harry Potter? All among them knew what had happened to the thirteen sent to attack the Burrow, They knew also of those who went to the Lovegood's but did not return and were never heard from again. However, even the most up-to-date of Death Eaters was aware of the wrath of the Dark Lord and found it hard to be fearful of two teenagers, Harry Potter or not.

Those at the front of the dark throng did not have long to ruminate over Harry's vitriolic words. Within moments of finishing his speech, his hands were gathering handfuls of dark, shadowy raw magic. Moving with as much speed as he knew Ginny could keep up with, Harry began flinging bowling-ball sized orbs of shadow at the Death Eaters. A fraction of a second behind him, Ginny sent out her magic, igniting the projectiles into a searing hot ball of fiery magic, with unimaginably hot flames and a shadowy edge that would carve through shields like a shark swimming through a shoal of minnows. The pair managed eight Shadowfire "bombs" before the stunned would-be attackers could respond, but eight of their number were already down and several others were burning.

Gringotts bank was built in the centre of a fork in the alley. The Death Eaters approached up from the Knockturn Alley entrance, which was a few buildings along from the Leaky Cauldron. Unnoticed by the Death Eaters, as they reached the wider part of the alley in front of the Gringotts steps, a contingent of Order of the Phoenix operatives had come through the magical gateway behind the Leaky Cauldron and had stealthily made their way up behind the massed ranks of the Dark Lord. Moody, Shacklebolt, Tonks, Hestia Jones, Emmeline Vance, Dedalus Diggle and several other civilian and ministry employees were waiting for the signal to begin cutting into their opponents. So it may not be honourable to curse someone in the back, but these were Death Eaters, and this was not a duel of honour.

Also awaiting the signal to join the fray, from the fork heading off to the left side of Gringotts was the Brotherhood of Flame. Six Weasley boys stood waiting, disillusioned, tense, anxious, but alert and ready. Each of them had thoughts of fire in their mind and small flames dancing in their fingertips. In the shadows of the magnificent bank they waited, anticipating the moment they could unleash the very fire that burned in their soul onto those would-be killers who supported the man who caused the death of their mother.

Waiting patiently for the signal to join the fray in the right-hand fork, was a third group. The Shadowfire Council, with the exception of Sirius who was abroad, comprised a formidable collection of magic users. At the front of the group of five stood Albus Dumbledore, Supreme Mugwump and Head of the Wizengamot. To his left waited Severus Snape, ex-Death Eater and master duellist, and Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration mistress. On the headmaster's other side was Remus Lupin, ex Marauder and Defence Against the Dark Arts tutor – not a position gained by one with shoddy wandmanship. Finally there was Arthur Weasley, a mild mannered man by reputation, but surprisingly wise and adept. He may not have the raw firepower of his son Percy, or the tricky finesse of the twins, but this man had experience; experience of combining the innate Weasley fire with the simultaneous use of his wand. These five were not a group to trifle with, and they waited, silent and steadfast as the cloaked and masked Death Eaters reached the steps of the Bank, where Harry and Ginny waited.

Hphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphph

The Death Eaters in the front ranks suddenly began to return fire – about a dozen were able to retaliate safely without fear of hitting comrades in front of them. Harry and Ginny shielded themselves valiantly from the onslaught of spells. Streaks of red, blue, purple and yellow fizzed through the air, before striking Harry's black, shadow-shield and disappearing into nothing.

As Harry's shield absorbed the curses, Ginny sent a jet of flame streaking into the sky – it was the signal to the other parties. Unbeknownst to the overconfident Death Eaters, they were about to be attacked from all sides.

The Weasley brothers watched with bated breath as the foremost Death Eaters screamed curses at their sister and their friend. It seemed an age before Ginny sent the signal up, but as the burst of fire streaked over the heads of the attackers, the firestorm was quickly unleashed. Breaking their cover, the Weasley brothers formed a line and gathered their magic. With a nod from Bill, all six hurled various forms of fireball at the Death Eater's left flank. Percy's massive fireball struck one Death Eater full on the side of the head, showering all around him with bits of flaming robe and mask. The twins sent multitudes of small balls of fire dancing into the ranks of the opposition force, whilst Bill, Charlie and Ron added their efforts, flaming jets, fireballs and arrows as quickly as they could into the evil force in front of them.

As the Death Eaters began to react to the Brotherhood's opening salvo, the six began alternating between attack and defence. Three would shield whilst three would attack, swapping over every minute or so.

From the other side of the melee, the Council also took Ginny's signal and began their assault. The imperious Dumbledore sent high powered stunners, binding ropes and chains, mixed with illusions and other distractions. Snape went straight for the darker end of the legal spectrum, with vicious bone-breakers and cutting spells. McGonagall transfigured anything that she could see – cloth robes into stone, white masks into poisonous mercury or acid, dust and debris into sharp projectiles which she would banish into the massed ranks before them.

The right flank of the Death Eater force sustained a heavy loss before they managed to respond. But respond they did, and soon they were shielding themselves and retaliating with the Killing Curse or the i_Cruciatus/i_.

Remus Lupin held his ground and responded in typical Marauder fashion; trip jinxes, vanishing clothes, itching hexes. These distracting, childish ploys were however followed up swiftly by stunners, banishers and bludgeoners. Arthur Weasley also made his presence known, sending jets of fire at the feet of the Death Eaters, whilst attacking or shielding with his wand at the same time.

At the rear of the skirmish, the group of Order members, led by Moody, Shacklebolt and Tonks also responded to the signal with a wave of stunning spells. The rearmost Death Eaters fell forward into their comrades, who turned to face the opponent from another side.

As the fight ebbed and flowed on four sides, the scene in the wide part of Diagon Alley was soon filled with smoke, fire, explosions, shouts, curses, yells of triumph and cries of pain or anguish. Streaks of light of all colours light up the smoke as they flew from wand to target, or strayed into storefronts and side alleys.

Whilst the Council group made good ground against their opponents, thanks to the experience of its members, the Weasley boys, the Brotherhood of Flame were pushed back. Moody, Shacklebolt, Tonks and the Order of the Phoenix held their ground, preventing Death Eaters from fleeing the alley. At the front of the fight, Harry and Ginny quickly cut through the rank and file, but were soon pinned down by the experienced leaders of the Death Eater pack. At its head were Lucius Malfoy and Lucas Parkinson, as well as the heavyweight Crabbe and Goyle Seniors. Supporting, and supposedly in Azkaban were the Lestranges and Antonin Dolohov.

The eight notorious Death Eaters pushed Harry and Ginny back towards the doors of the great bank and fanned out in a semi-circle around them. The battle raged below them, at the foot of the steps, with the Light side gaining the upper hand over the dark, slowly but surely. In front of the doors, Harry and Ginny could shield themselves well, using Harry's shadow shield. To the dismay of the Death Eaters attacking them, they had been given a standing order by Voldemort that Harry Potter, if encountered must be taken alive so that the Dark Lord himself could execute the bane of his recent existence.

Harry extended the shield so that Ginny and he were completely encased between it and the doors of Gringotts. After several minutes of hammering away at the shield, and just as the eight inner circle members had decided to blast i_reductos/i_ at the steps and walls around the pair, the shield suddenly vanished. Harry and Ginny were gone.

Bellatrix Lestrange's crazed scream rent through the air, distracting everyone who was still fighting. The eight inner circle Death Eaters on the steps then surveyed the scene below them. Being front and centre in the massed ranks, they had focussed their attentions on the boy and girl who defied them. To each side, and behind them, the sixty plus comrades who had accompanied the elite eight lay dead, dying, wounded, stunned, and bound, or any combination of those five states. Several aurors, Hogwarts finest Professors and a gaggle of red-headed Weasleys looked up at them, led determinedly by one Albus Dumbledore.

The odds were not in favour of the remaining Death Eaters. They may have been the cream of the Dark Lord's crop, but outnumbered two to one, including Dumbledore was a suicide mission. Lucius, being the most cunning and astute of the group, but also the most cowardly, was the first to activate an emergency portkey. The other seven quickly followed, as twenty stunners flew through the space they had stood, before splashing harmlessly into the enchanted doors of Gringotts Bank.

For today, the battle was over. The formidable faction that was Shadowfire had dealt another blow to the Dark Lord. The eight returning Death Eaters would not be well received by their master. That was certain. It was Ron Weasley however, who voiced the question that no-one else seemed to dare ask.

"Where are they? Where are Ginny and Adam?"

"Here!" a familiar voice called. It was Ginny who had shouted out to her brother. Through the haze of the smoky alley, the heroic figures of Harry and Ginny stepped their way over the bodies and rubble.

"What happened to you?" asked Dumbledore. I caught a glimpse of you putting up the shield but when it fell…"

"Don't forget, Headmaster," Harry replied. "You aren't the only one with a phoenix any more."

Harry glanced around at the assembled rag-tag band that stood around him.

"Casualties?"

As the three groups reported the injuries, Harry moved among them, healing what he could, as did Tonks and McGonagall. Charlie Weasley was used to treating burns, thanks to his occupation, so he also helped where he could. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mad-Eye Moody intercepted the aurors and Ministry clean-up crews as they arrived from the Leaky Cauldron end of the Alley, who then began the arduous tasks of detaining those Death Eaters who survived, but were subdued and removing the remains of those who didn't. As word of the battle spread, shopkeepers began arriving to inspect the damage to their businesses. It was still early in the morning – before the stores would usually open. For a few brief moments, a small contingent of Goblins emerged from the Bank to speak with Harry and Ginny.

There was no two ways about it – Diagon Alley was a mess. Many windows had been smashed, doorways blown in my errant curses. Lintels had broken and parts of walls collapsed. The cobbled street was pock-marked with small craters and stained with scorch marks and dried blood. But worst of all was the smell. The stench of burning permeated throughout the thoroughfare. Although it had been a victory for the Shadowfire banner, society had to bear the cost – the cleaning up, the lost stock, the damaged trade, the broken doors and windows.

But it was a victory for Harry and Ginny. Of over seventy Death Eaters, only eight escaped and these were not unharmed. There was at least some comfort for the pair that the escapees would face the wrath of their Lord when they returned. On the good side, all of the Weasley boys sustained at least some level of injury. Percy, being the most hot-headed was the worst, having taken a vicious cutting curse to his thigh. In the Order of the Phoenix unit, there were several injuries requiring attention, plus widespread scrapes, bruises and concussions. Harry stabilised those he could not heal and sent them off to seek professional help, either at Hogwarts or St. Mungo's.

Of the Council members, injuries were light. Remus took a cut on his right cheek, but it would soon heal. Dumbledore lost a foot off his beard and Minerva McGonagall had taken a tumble, bruising her hip. It was miraculous though; that the combined force of around twenty-five had decimated almost three times their number. This defeat would most certainly get Voldemort's attention.

Sfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsfsf

It was with incredible reluctance that the eight inner circle Death Eaters answered their master's call. The Daily Prophet was quickly on to the story of the i_Battle of Diagon Alley/i_, so the Dark Lord was soon aware of the failure of his troops. Warily, the eight assembled in front of their master.

Several hours and much pain later, Voldemort looked coldly at Lucius Malfoy.

"Now that you have experienced my displeasure at your failure, show me what happened."

"Yes, my Lord." As he kow-towed before his master, Malfoy extracted his memory of the encounter and passed the silver strand to Voldemort, who wound his wand into the shimmery wisp and brought it to his own temple. The Dark Lord spent a few minutes reviewing the memory in his mind. As crazed and psychotic as the man was, he was still a genius and in complete control of his mind.

"Shadowfire!" exclaimed Voldemort suddenly. Each of the eight cowering servants looked up at him reverently.

"Do none of you fools know of Shadowfire?"

"I believe I have heard it mentioned, my Lord," ventured Dolohov, in his heavy Eastern European accent.

"Yes, Dolohov. Of all of you, you would be the one. Shadowfire is an ancient legend, a prophecy told many years ago by a lowly half-breed of a Centaur. It is a fairy-tale, nothing more than a myth." He paused. "However! Potter, it seems, believes in this prophecy, no doubt Dumbledore has something to do with this." The Dark Lord paused to think again.

"Dolohov!"

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Your father once had in his possession, a very particular book. You will bring it to me by midnight tomorrow."

"Yes, my Lord."

Hphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphp

As it was the Easter holidays, Hogwarts was almost empty of students. The majority of teachers remained, however, which is how come the day after the battle found Harry and Ginny once more in the Headmaster's office with their council of advisors.

The discussion centred around the skirmish, unsurprisingly, the fallout at the Ministry and the like. All of a sudden, Harry's sensitive ears pricked, as he heard someone coming up the spiral staircase. The Boy-who-lived glanced at the Headmaster, who smiled back with a sparkle in his eye. A moment later, the heavy oak door into the circular office crashed open and Sirius Black staggered in. The man was clearly exhausted, dirty and had dried blood on his face and shirt. A very recently scabbed over cut on his forehead was overshadowed by the purple bruise under one eye. The animagus' eyes sought his godson immediately. Limping heavily, and with one arm hanging limply by his side, Sirius tottered to Harry, who was on his feet quickly to steady his godfather.

"I have it, pup. I have the book with the full prophecy."

SFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSF

That's the end of Shadowfire!

Watch out for the final instalment, "Guardians", coming soon.


End file.
